OKC Thunder bench depth continues to surprise

Depth has been an issue for the OKC Thunder the past three years, but a new group of versatile youngsters are proving promising.

From the moment Andre Roberson tore his patellar tendon in late January, OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan has been searching for someone to take his place as the starting shooting guard. Corey Brewer was a nice band-aid to finish out the rest of the year, but with the new season now in full swing, the position is again up for grabs.

Had you asked me before the start of the season, I would have thought the two-guard spot would be a major weakness for the Thunder regardless of who fills in. And with Andre Roberson reportedly out until at least January, I thought we would go through some more growing pains.

Surprisingly, however, the young group consisting of Alex Abrines, Terrance Ferguson, Hamidou Diallo and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot have all filled in relatively well in their own unique ways. Not to say the group turned the weakness to a strength, but they certainly haven’t been holding the team back.

More from Thunder News

• 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

So far, the starter role has been filled by committee.  Abrines appeared to be the front runner going into the beginning of the season, but Donovan gave the nod to the 19-year-old Terrance Ferguson who has shown signs of being special.

Ferguson’s speed and athleticism have earned him a lot of respect in a short amount of time, but his shooting leaves something to be desired. And with Abrines going through an illness simultaneously, it was time for Donovan to experiment.

Even while both Ferguson and Abrines were on the floor, Diallo was already proving to be an asset in sporadic minutes. Much like Ferguson, his jaw-dropping athleticism allows him to jump out of the gym, rebound well and make some impressive hustle points.

And, after scoring a season-high 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting with five rebounds against the Kings, Donovan should consider him as the starter in front of Ferguson.

The experiment continued with TLC getting into the mix the past two games. In 24 and 25 minutes respectively, TLC eclipsed double-digits in scoring and picked up a few rebounds along the way the past two games. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time and never looks out of place in the flow of the offense.

Again, none of these guys are making cases to become the permanent starter. Rather, Donovan is searching for temporary help now and holding auditions for help as needed down the stretch.

But anytime a coach turns to the third and fourth man in one position, there’s usually more hiccups than the Thunder are experiencing. And with the team lacking some depth at small forward, one or two of them will be filling in for George as well.

By the way, there are two other youngsters on a two-way contract, Abdel Nader and Deonte Burton, who haven’t gotten much a chance in the regular season but showed some promise in the summer league.

For the first time in a long time, the OKC Thunder are showing good depth off the bench. OKC has traditionally been a top-heavy team, especially in recent years, but the current roster has been a nice change of pace.

There are some real position battles going on right now with several players recovering from injuries and personal leaves. Even still, the Thunder are playing great ball early on and a lot of it has to do with the added depth.