Chemistry at forefront of OKC Thunder hot streak

It’s been all smiles for the OKC Thunder this past month. And with the team firing on all cylinders this early, the best could still be yet to come.

Four consecutive losses to begin the season is all but a forgotten memory, as the OKC Thunder continue to build upon the current hot streak. The Thunder have won 10 of the past 11 games since the four-game slide and most of it without Russell Westbrook on the floor. So what changed since the start of the season? It’s not the starting lineup, minutes, coaches or the game plan. The difference has been chemistry.

Chemistry seems like a new concept for a team which hasn’t had much of it since 2016. But that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing the past month with Paul George leading the way and having fun doing it.

Youth rising:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

The energy around the team seems contagious, with nearly everyone playing better in Westbrook’s absence. Perhaps no surprise bigger than the emergence of Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo, who’ve both beat out the early favorite Alex Abrines for starting shooting guard.

This new sense of chemistry is a far cry from what we saw last year when the infamous “OK3” struggled to play well and never hit their stride. And while the starters were figuring out how to play together on the fly, the bench was struggling to score more than any other team in the league.

The lesson learned from last year is the importance of playing well together. It’s just as much, or more, about being on the same page and making others around you better as it is for players to make an individual impact.

And for this team, it has all started on the defensive end.

Defense having massive impact:

As the second-best defensive team in the league behind only Boston, the Thunder excel in translating defense to offense. They’re currently tied for first with Memphis for most points off turnovers at 22.1 a game and 11th in fast-break points with 14.5 points per game.

Add that to being first in second-chance points with an average of17.4, and the Thunder are creating a lot more scoring opportunities than their opponents. And now that the offense is heating up and shots are beginning to fall, we have a playoff team again.

The hot shooting will hopefully continue when Westbrook returns with little to no adjustment period. No, I’m not implying the Thunder is better without Westbrook. However, Westbrook changes the dynamic of the team on both ends of the floor and Billy Donovan shouldn’t try to do something that will mess with the current chemistry.

Perhaps this period without two of the regular five starters has allowed the role players to prove Westbrook doesn’t need to carry the team for 40 minutes every night to be successful. Dennis Schroder has proven to be a more than capable backup, George can completely take over games, and if all else fails, defense keeps them in games.

A lot had to happen to get the Thunder to this point. There were many growing pains and hard lessons to learn, but the darkest days of this group appears to be behind us. Now it’s all about winning games and having fun doing it.