OKC Thunder: 5 Takeaways following OKC’s victory over the Washington Wizards

OKC’s defense is legitimate

With 2:42 left in the first quarter and tied at 30 a-piece, Patrick Patterson, Alex Abrines and Dennis Schroder checked in and blew the doors off Washington. The Thunder’s second unit made six straight stops to end the quarter which featured two steals and four turnovers while hitting two triples in the process.

From that point on, the defense was rolling.

OKC allowed 20 points on 41.2 percent shooting in the second quarter, forcing eight turnovers and five steals. Russ was particularly aggressive on the defensive end, playing the passing lanes and getting three of his game high four steals in the period.

The sequence below shows just how connected the Thunder’s defense is. After PG is screened out of the play initially, Adams correctly rotates to Beal, Grant stays with Markieff Morris, Russ attacks the passing lane and gets the steal for the jam.

Or how about a smart vertical play by Abrines when Kelly Oubre attacks the rim. Even though its defense 101, players are frequently called for not being vertical.

A side from turning defense to offense, the Thunder forced Washington to make tough shots over outstretched arms. Morris makes a tough runner over the big Kiwi’s outstretched arm.

After building a 29-point lead on the back of strong team play, OKC eased off defensively in the third. The Thunder conceded 35 points on 60 percent shooting (12-20), 50 percent form three (4-8) and sent the Wiz to the line 10 times (7-10). However, the team got back on track in the fourth and allowed 26 points on 44 percent shooting (12-27) and 20 percent from deep (2-10).

Oklahoma City continued its solid 3-point defense holding Washington to 30 percent beyond the arc (9-30). While it is still early in the season, OKC’s defense is a real strength and is set to become even better when Andre Roberson returns.