OKC Thunder howl in Twin Cities – 5 takeaways from dominant victory

The OKC Thunder dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves from start to finish in their first preseason win with five key takeaways in the victory.

The final score of the OKC Thunder victory versus the Wolves doesn’t do their performance justice. If Billy Donovan had a check list entering the match his pen probably ran out of ink. In fact, Billy D may have a hard time coming up with a short list of things to fix other than 3-point efficiency moving into OKC’s match Sunday versus the Hawks. Rather, he might want to challenge the Thunder to replicate this effort.

As I noted on Twitter during the match “it’s only preseason but….” if this is remotely what the Timberwolves plan on bringing to the hardwood in season they are in trouble. The defense is porous and the star whom the Wolves brass decided to side with in the Butler-Towns drama spends the majority of his time positioned above the arc. For a 7′ center it’s concerning he doesn’t appear to have worked on his post game this offseason and seems averse to spending any time in the paint.

The running system narrative for the OKC Thunder is space and pace as Billy Donovan wants his squad pushing tempo on both sides of the court. Ironically the Wolves are designed to excel in the open court, but rarely push the ball in transition, not registering a single fast break point through the first half. Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Wiggins it makes zero sense for him to be on a squad who isn’t capitalizing on his athleticism by running. Wiggins would be best served in a system which allows his freakish raw talent to excel in the open court.

Jimmy Butler remains at home awaiting a trade and after witnessing how poorly the Wolves play defense it’s hard not to side with the disenchanted star on why he wants out.

In terms of the OKC Thunder it was a veritable feast for the roster up and down the lineup. Every player who touched the court prior to garbage time contributed and offered a highlight or key stat. After losing to the Pistons in their preseason opener in spite of a decent effort this win was of the blowout variety and should leave the squad feeling very positive about the progress being made.

With that, let’s dive into the key takeaways from the win.