The OKC Thunder return to the hardwood Monday Night against the Hornets to tip-off the preseason. The coffee tastes a bit sweeter today, not only due to my Italian sweet creamer but because tonight marks a return to my happy place. Basketball season. Game previews, storylines, recaps, takeaways, overreactions, underreactions, returning to the arena, late nights, all that goes into basketball season, it is here.
Creating content is fun! Below will be a link to join the team if you are interested! At Thunderous Intentions we already have a game preview up, but what storylines should you specifically be watching for in the preseason opener for the OKC Thunder?
OKC Thunder tip-off Preseason slate
Tonight, the Oklahoma City Thunder will welcome fans back into the arena for the first time since March 11th, 2020 with a new name on the side of the building, fans will enter the Paycom Center to see a new-look roster. Headlined by max contact point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dominate defensive guard Lu Dort, the international man of mystery Aleksej Pokusevski, Building Block Bazley, their new shiny sixth overall pick in Josh Giddey, and a ton of youngsters looking to solidify themselves as NBA players.
Mark Daigneault, in his second year as the OKC Thunder head coach, will pace the sidelines in front of fans tonight for the first time. He has already alerted the media that no one will play “crazy minutes” in the rotation tonight.
The bench boss also pleas with fans not to overreact to the preseason rotations. Pointing out the team knows how much work the players need to get ready for the regular season and will shuffle the minutes accordingly including at times featuring did not play coaches decision, for some players.
These games do not count, why would you watch them? Why would you care about what happens in early October when the regular season is still three weeks away? Well, since the scoreboard does not matter, let’s lay out storylines to follow while you kick back and watch the OKC Thunder preseason opener.
OKC Thunder attempt an NBA revolution and it will be televised
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a small market, Free Agents, which are one of the lifebloods of NBA championships, will not flock to Bricktown. That leaves Oklahoma City with two avenues to improve their team, the NBA Draft and trading for disgruntled stars who likely only have a year or two left on their deal.
OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti has set the team up for success in the NBA Draft, as well as the trade market, with the draft assets he has compiled.
However, the Thunder are not stopping there they are trying to find a competitive edge on the court by building their team differently.
Similar to the Oakland A’s “Moneyball” era, when the A’s focused on statistics and player values other teams did not care about at the time, the Thunder are trying to find their version of On-base Percentage. What is something NBA teams are overlooking?
I mean, what is left? We have seen the Rockets try to play without a Center, we have seen the Pelicans build a team with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis which performed well until Cousins’ injury, we have seen teams only value three-point shooters, what is left? What is the next evolution of the sport?
That is what Mark Daigneault and Sam Presti are trying to figure out. Their vision is clear, they hope one day close to if not all 17 players on the OKC Thunder roster will be able to handle the ball, pass, play make, rebound, and create.
This allows the team to push the pace, running in transition no matter which player hauls in the rebound, they hope it’ll create floor spacing for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is an elite drive-and-kick option, and most importantly the chance at creating a mismatch every time down the floor.
If you trust every player to initiate the offense, that means every player must be able to play off-ball, each time down the floor you could see SGA in a different spot. For defenses, he is their priority, so as they scramble to find him on the floor, you are into your offensive action and plotting your next move.
Can a team of five playmakers on the floor at all times work? Can it gel together? Today is our first look at the new era in Oklahoma City Thunder history.
OKC Thunder small-ball lineups are the new norm, who will lead the charge?
With the Oklahoma City Thunder trying to pull off their all-playmakers lineup, they will be all-in on positionless basketball. Their center position will likely be primarily occupied by Isaiah Roby and rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
The minutes load between the two will be decided by a razor’s edge, and that begins to be decided today. Roby has the leg up based on experience and he is receiving rave reviews from everyone around OKC Thunder training camp.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is an interesting rookie who has a better three-point shot and could walk into the NBA with better defensive ability down low than Roby. He was a standout during the NBA Vegas Summer League for the Thunder and should receive a ton of minutes tonight and throughout the NBA season.
Each player has a legitimate chance to label themselves as a key part of the Thunder future with how they play throughout this season. As the organization owns three first-round picks this season (If the Thunder land in the lottery as projected), the roster turnover will leave Presti with tough decisions to make.
Two redundant players might find themselves in a roster battle for a few seasons as the team is hopefully in the process of putting their finishing touches on this rebuild, seeing how they perform now will be an interesting storyline to track throughout the rebuild process.
There is a path for each player to play so well that they are each heavy minute pieces on an OKC Thunder team that wants to win a title in the future. How do you project Roby and Robinson-Earl panning out?