OKC Thunder: Transition defense tops 3 takeaways in loss to Bulls

In the preseason home opener, the OKC Thunder faced former coach Billy Donovan and his Bulls. Three takeaways offer insight into the loss.

The OKC Thunder had an abysmal outing in their home opener against the Chicago Bulls. OKC lost 124-103, and the scoreline feels somewhat generous given the way the home team played.

The starting lineup was improved from the Saturday night outing as OKC’s new ‘Big 3’ was inserted into the lineup for the first time: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazely looked to make an imprint on their legacy, while newcomers Al Horford and Justin Jackson were inserted in the starting lineup for the first time of the season.

Three takeaways from OKC Thunder preseason loss to Bulls:

Al Horford looked wonderful in his debut with an impressive 15 points in a mere 15 minutes of action, going 6 of 10 from the field, shooting a blistering 60 percent from the field, knocking down two 3-pointers in the process.

Horford went to the bench and did not return after halftime as OKC trailed the Bulls 59-46 going into intermission. Moses Brown showed promise during the second half as he scored 12 points in only nine minutes of action.

The most promising player in the past two games has undoubtedly been Theo Maledon. The ‘France Transplant’ scored 20 points on Saturday night in about 30 minutes of playing time. Tonight Theo followed that up with an 11-point outing.

The point guard shot 3 of 9 from the floor and was a minus -16 in the plus/minus column. Daigneault may be tipping his hand regarding Maledon’s playing time but it feels appropriate given his output and should give Thunder fans optimism heading into this season.

With this in mind, let us take a look as TI dives into 3 takeaways from the 124-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls.