OKC Thunder: Injury updates, offensive upgrade highlight 5 keys of Sam Presti presser
By Rylan Stiles
Offense getting an upgrade:
Sam Presti also said the OKC Thunder will have a new focus offensively this year.
Presti: "Tempo affects rhythm which affects efficiency. I'm excited for Billy (Donovan) because there are a lot of interchangeable pieces that he will have to sort out. I do think playing with more tempo plays to our strengths."
— Brady Trantham (@BradyDoesSports) September 20, 2018
Sam Presti went on to say: “We need to have speed and tempo defensively and offensively. We want to be faster making decisions on both sides of the floor.”
The OKC Thunder ranked 16th in pace last season. A lot of that was due to Carmelo Anthony. A faster offense of course leads to easier buckets. The Thunder somehow were great at getting steals and deflections, but again, still came up 16th in pace. This season there is no Carmelo Anthony to need to wait on. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and company can just get out and run.
Billy Donovan said this same thing during the NBA Summer League. The Thunder Summer League squad ran at an extremely fast pace and he told reporters that is the culture he wants, and that is how he wants the varsity Thunder team to play.
On-or-off?
No, not the on/off stats, but the biggest talking point since OKC shipped Melo to Atlanta: “Will Russell Westbrook play off ball with Dennis Schöder now in the fold?”
Presti on playing both Westbrook and Schröder: "Billy loves the idea of having another ball handler on the floor. The way the game is today, people pick up on patterns. Creative play. Dennis and Russell together gives us more creativity."
— Brady Trantham (@BradyDoesSports) September 20, 2018
This really puts pressure on Russell Westbrook. While fans will still cast all of their hate and anger onto Billy Donovan if things go south, Presti just told you Donovan’s plans.
Billy wants this team to run in transition, and also have Russell Westbrook play off ball some. If those things do not happen, and Russell Westbrook is not willing to play off ball is that Billy Donovan’s fault?
Clearly, that will be an interesting story line to track as the year progresses.