OKC Thunder: 3 season goals for Admiral Schofield in 2020-21

Season goal for Admiral Schofield No. 3) Help out on the boards

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One of the most fundamental skills of basketball is rebounding. It is often said that the defensive possession is not over until the rebound has been secured.

This old adage is going to be particularly true next year.

With Horford as the only NBA established front-court player within the rotation, there are going to be plenty of rebounds to be collected as a team.

This is going to be the key mentality for the Thunder next season — rebounding as a team.

Schofield only averaged 1.4 rebounds per game last season, per 36 that number jumped to 4.6 per game. However, it is not the number of rebounds that is important next year.

It is going to be keeping his opponent off the glass.

There is a good chance that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazely, and Horford are going to be the leading rebounders for this team. Trevor Ariza, should he play, will also help out in this area. However, without the team mentality, the Thunder may give up obscene amounts of offensive rebounds, meaning the team will get beaten badly most nights.

This era of Thunder basketball is about building a culture within the team where they look out for each other. Boxing out on defense is just one of the many fundamentals that this team will be striving to implement.

Schofield has a good chance to be a part of that.