OKC Thunder Sunday Social: Active week in social media

In this edition of Sunday Social, TI recaps a busy week for the OKC Thunder, consisting of an injury setback, two games, and the reason PG missed one game.

This past week was a hectic one for the OKC Thunder. It began with OKC hosting their annual Blue & White scrimmage and was followed by a preseason game against the Pistons. Starting small forward Paul George missed the game against Detroit (more on that later).

The day after their first preseason game the Thunder announced Andre Roberson suffered a setback, forcing their defensive star to miss a minimum of two months. And, last, but not the least Oklahoma City closed out the week by battling the chaotic Timberwolves in Minnesota.

With that, let’s review the best posts from the Blue & White scrimmage. This was the first time the scrimmage took place inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in franchise history. For the previous eight years, the Thunder held the scrimmage at a local high school gymnasium.

First glance at the 2018-19 OKC Thunder squad

This slam by Hamidou Diallo perfectly demonstrates why the Thunder made a deal on draft night to acquire the 6′5″ wing man out of the University of Kentucky. Diallo is the exact model of an OKC Thunder player, young, athletic, and raw offensively. Hopefully, Diallo takes the path of Jerami Grant, rather than follow in the footsteps of other failed Oklahoma City draft picks.

Patrick Patt3rson

It was only a scrimmage, but Patrick Patterson looked great. Pat looks ready to claim the starting spot he was offered last season, prior to the OKC Thunder adding Carmelo Anthony.

We are family

This response from Dennis Schröder is not surprising. The answer Schröder gave is typical for any player who came from an unstable environment. A stable environment can be a shock to the system for said player, in a good way. Take former misfits OKC acquired such as Dion Waiters and Enes Kanter.

Waiters and Kanter had poor reputations prior to arriving in Oklahoma City, not only did they repair their reputations, they both became fan favorites and earned large contracts. With luck, perhaps Schröder becomes the latest misfit success story in Oklahoma City.

Ball movement be darn

This quote by Patterson after the scrimmage was intriguing, as it seems contradictory. Since head coach Billy Donovan frequently preaches ball movement and player movement during his time with the media.

This furthers former Thunder player Carmelo Anthony’s comments about not having a clearly defined system. Needless to say, this is a big season for Billy D, taking into account Pat’s comment’s OKC’s system or lack thereof seems much the same.

In due time, perhaps Donovan will prove his critics wrong. In order to do so, Donovan might need to install an actual offensive system.