OKC Thunder: 3 things we learned in scrimmage vs. Celtics

Adams is rested and healthy

Post-game Billy Donovan raved about the condition Steven Adams showed up to camp with. His stamina was noticeable immediately in practice the coach said. On Friday, fans got to see how ready the big man is.

The thing that might be overlooked is how often Adams has played through injury. Thinking back over the past three or four seasons the Big Kiwi has constantly dealt with bumps and bruises so arguably the extended layoff finally allowed him to let those nagging injuries fully heal.

Certainly, he looked great on Friday with the pick and roll action between him and Chris Paul virtually unstoppable. Adams scored 17 points in the first half then sat the second half but this is very encouraging. His full box score is mind-boggling considering he only played 15:20. His 17 points came on 8 of 11 with one miss coming from the perimeter. He grabbed seven rebounds with four offensive boards, one assist, and one block. That’s about the most economical use of 15 minutes we’ve seen in a while.

One note, the Celtics have great wing depth with three star players all capable of creating their own shot in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward. Their problem is the center and while former OKC Thunder big man Enes Kanter performed well the majority of his minutes came without a true OKC center on the court.

For those that believe the Celtics are the favorites to come out of the East, perhaps Adams just demonstrated why teams like the 76ers (Joel, Embiid, Al Horford), the Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez) Raptors (Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka) and Heat (Bam Adebayo, Myers Leonard) aren’t necessarily as concerned about the prospect of playing Boston.