OKC Thunder close to perfection in San Antonio – 3 takeaways

 Three point guard lineup feasting:

I was among those who didn’t buy in early to the three point guard lineup. Much of the reason why is I didn’t believe Dennis Schroder would give up his shots for the betterment of the team. After all, he was the primary playmaker with the second unit and often ignored his court mates. He’d proven his potential with his National team but hadn’t ever demonstrated it consistently for his varsity club.

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

But, just like when a prediction comes true and we revel in the fact it’s equally important to own when we are wrong. And, in this situation I was wrong.

I’m happy to take ownership of those early concerns because it means the Thunder are succeeding which is inevitably the most important part of the picture.

The most exciting aspect of the trio is each has a role and the really cool part is that role fluctuates on a game to game basis. If any of the trio has a defensive matchup they can exploit they have the ball. Clearly, Chris Paul tends to be the closer but he’s as comfortable setting up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Dennis Schroder if they have it rolling or the better matchup.

In this contest, SGA took over in the third quarter scoring 15 of his 25 points to narrow the lead. CP3 did his clutch time thing scoring 10 of his 16 points and Schroder continues to impress as he scores as needed and most importantly when it’s fitting for him to score as opposed to at the cost of all other shooters. His growth is the most impressive part of this trio.

Next up for the Thunder, they play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday as they continue this four-game road trip.