OKC Thunder: Muscala perfection highlights 3 takeaways in victory vs. Spurs

Three takeaways from the first OKC Thunder preseason matchup of the year.

Saturday night, the OKC Thunder kicked off the 2020-21 preseason with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Four starters were familiar to the OKC fanbase, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Mike Muscala, and Isaiah Roby.

Newcomer George Hill was the fifth player inserted in the starting rotation. All were looking to show coach Mark Daigneault what they can bring to this Thunder roster.

Oklahoma City looked aggressive with Shai at the helm, as the “pace and space” era began last night under the first-year coach Mark Daigneault. The Thunder looked energized, and the 3-point shot efficiency was a tremendous change from what Thunder fans have been accustomed to watching. If OKC can shoot the ball like that at a consistent rate, it will be hard for any team to keep up with that type of ball movement, shooting, and the Thunder’s length on the defensive end.

Theo Maledon led the way with 20 points in 29 minutes of action. Mike Muscala had an efficient 18 points in 17 minutes of activity, shooting 5 of 5 from the field; Muscala looked like he was in midseason form on the first night of preseason action.

Theo looked eerily similar to his French mentor, Tony Parker. His defensive tenacity is near identical to the way Parker looked in his earlier years in San Antonio. Maledon isn’t a shy rookie by any means, shooting at a high rate; Theo should be able to provide some quick offense for this young Oklahoma City squad.

No.1: Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski look to be promising prospects

Theo Maledon looked more than comfortable in tonight’s preseason victory against the San Antonio Spurs. His ability to shoot the ball and create his shot is paramount to this OKC Thunder squad.

Moreover, he is an energetic player who is tenacious and plays a specific brand of basketball. The OKC Thunder tweeted out a video highlighting his scoring. Note Theo shooting a quick 3-pointer in transition, followed by an acrobatic move to the basket:

Maledon will make his way into the rotation easily due to the fact that he is the most polished rookie that is active on the OKC roster.

Aleksej Pokusevski got off to a slow start but showed exceptional promise from the arc. The Serbian went 4 of 8 from the arc, scoring 14 points while collecting eight rebounds. Poku still needs to find his spots on the court. At times he looked uncomfortable and his balance looked to be easily bothered.

In particular, it was obvious with his defensive footwork, as players are able to easily push his thin frame out of the way to get to the basket. Poku has the ability to handle the basketball and run basic pick and roll with other guards as well, this will give OKC an interesting dynamic if Poku spends more time on the wing this season.