After massive offseason roster turnover, opportunity abounds for every OKC Thunder player.
This weekend the OKC Thunder played their first preseason game in San Antonio defeating the Spurs in an impressive offensive display. Both clubs are in the process of adjusting toward the future but are using significantly different timelines and strategies.
Roster constancy between seasons highlights this fact as the Spurs ran back the majority of their previous campaign core group with the notable exception of Bryn Forbes (Bucks) and Marco Belinelli (Italian league).
In contrast, Sam Presti deconstructed his 2019-20 roster bringing back just six players. Included in that group is Isaiah Roby who appeared in just three varsity games and last season’s two rookies.
With so much upheaval, head coach Mark Daigneault is essentially starting from scratch with constancy in short supply. As such only four returnees were healthy and available Saturday and Daigneault started them all.
Opportunity abounds for new members of OKC Thunder:
Although this was a preseason game that doesn’t count toward the regular season win tallies the production of this new group offered positive takeaways. At the top of that list was the 121 point outburst as well as the 54.8 percent (17-31) perimeter efficiency.
While OKC is expected to finish at the bottom of the ladder Mark Daigneault’s offensive system offered hints this iteration of the Thunder will be serving up an exciting brand of basketball. The youngsters will try to force turnovers and get out quickly in transition. Emphasis on ball movement and increased 3-point shot attempts will be part and parcel of Daigneault’s offensive scheme.
Replacing copious core stat categories:
More than two-thirds of last season’s team has moved on with seven of those individuals responsible for a vast majority of the core offensive production. The new members of the Thunder will have ample opportunity to fill the gaping holes created via the turnover.
To wit, this new version of the Thunder won’t replicate last season’s win total but nonetheless, the majority of the core stat production needs to be replaced. To that end, Thunderous Intentions will be invested in tracking who steps up to fill those specific core offensive categories.
Diving into the production of those seven players offers some sobering results.
| Rk | G | MP | FGA | 3PA | 2PA | FTA | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Chris Paul | 70 | 31.5 | 12.7 | 4.3 | 8.3 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 17.6 |
| 3 | Dennis Schröder | 65 | 30.8 | 14.8 | 5.0 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 18.9 |
| 4 | Danilo Gallinari | 62 | 29.6 | 13.2 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 18.7 |
| 5 | Steven Adams | 63 | 26.7 | 7.6 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 6.0 | 9.3 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 10.9 |
| 7 | Terrance Ferguson | 56 | 22.4 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| 10 | Nerlens Noel | 61 | 18.5 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 7.4 |
| 11 | Abdel Nader | 55 | 15.8 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 6.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2020.
The above group represented a per-game output of 83.7 points, 31.1 rebounds, and 17.4 assists. Certainly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will experience an uptick in his output as will Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort. And there is plenty of room for others to reap the benefit of replacing those areas.
In addition to the core three areas of points, rebounds and assists there are other important contributions to be made up such as steals and blocks. Moreover, minute distribution will factor as the exiting trio of starters and Dennis Schroder played between 26.7 and 31.5 minutes per contest. The other trio of reserves played between 15.8 and 22.4 minutes per game.
No matter how you slice it that’s a ton of offense and minutes up for grabs that the new OKC Thunder players can set their sights on.