OKC Thunder: 3 Takeaways from take down of eastern giant Nets

OKC Thunder takeaway No.3)  The team has options when the 3 Ball isn’t falling:

Through the first eight games of the year, one thing became apparent from this Thunder team is opponents were going to give them the 3-ball, and they were going to take them. The Thunder was intent to live or die by the 3-pointer

So far there has been mixed success with this approach. While everyone has had moments where they have gotten hot from deep, as a whole, they have been a below-average 3 point shooting team.

The Big question for the OKC Thunder has been whether or not there is a plan B if the 3-ball is not going down. Sunday, we most definitely got our answer.

Against a team with both Jarret Allen and the decomposing carcass of Deandre Jordan in the lineup the OKC Thunder absolutely assaulted the interior putting up sixty-six points in the paint.

It was an onslaught from the second quarter and did not relent until the final siren sounded. Lead by SGA and Diallo, the Thunder repeatedly forced switches with a double high screen and then went to work on Brooklyn’s tall towers.

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It got so bad that both Allen and Jordan had to be benched in the fourth so Brooklyn could play small ball with Kevin Durant at the five.

Not that it mattered, as Shae would routinely force a switch onto KD and then proceeded to make Durant look about 80 years old while trying to stay in front of the young point guard.

OKC won this game from the inside and the outside hitting fifteen 3 pointers on thirty-nine percent, and they were able to get so many wide-open shots because of the damage done in the interior all game.

OKC put the rest of the league on notice tonight and have made sure anyone who thought the tank was coming this year might want to rethink their opinion on the Thunder.

There is no team right now that plays harder and with more energy, and that’s quickly becoming the calling card for a team in Oklahoma that will continue to surprise a lot of people this year.