Five takeaways from a dominant Thunder season opener
By Tony Heim
The crunch-time lineup may not be the starting lineup
Four Thunder players recorded +/- of +23 or greater on Thursday: Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams, Paul George and…Alex Abrines. Abrines tied with George for the third-highest (+23) on the team – it wasn’t a fluke either.
Like last season, Abrines pure presence on the floor opened up space on the floor for Russell Westbrook. Unlike last season, the Spaniard Sniper isn’t the only deep threat on the floor, nor is he the defensive liability we are accustomed too. And that should have Andre Roberson worried.
The Thunder have another elite wing defender in PG-13. Most NBA teams don’t have two elite wing scorers, so Roberson’s defense may not be as big of a need in the final few minutes. Go back and watch the first quarter. When Abrines subbed in for Roberson OKC immediately went on a 10-2 run in 3 1/2 minutes.
RELATED STORY: Analyzing Alex Abrines’ rookie season film
I’m not going to go out and say Abrines could handle guarding Klay Thompson in the final two minutes of a Playoff game. That simply isn’t the case. But Abrines can handle the occasional switch onto Kristaps Porzingis (he forced a turnover tonight), especially when surrounded by George, Adams and a locked-in Russ/Melo.
All this praise and the 24-year old only hit 1-5 from deep. Once Abrines’ shot starts falling it’s going to be difficult to keep him off the bench.