OKC Thunder: tale of the tape in preseason opener
By Rylan Stiles
The OKC Thunder wrapped up their first preseason game and have a few days off before taking their first road trip of the year, going to the defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. What were the key takeaways from the Oklahoma City Thunder preseason-opening loss to the Charlotte Hornets?
When watching a game live, especially when covering a game keeping fans updated on Twitter, writing game recaps, podcast outlines, you are bound to miss things. The game simply moves too fast, these athletes are too good, when you look down to type, you might have missed a possession. That is why it is important to go back and watch the game over again, multiple times. Including replaying plays over and over again before hammering away a takeaway piece.
This game was streaming on the Thunder website, mobile app, and social media platforms, the Bucks game will return to a traditional broadcast as the Oklahoma City Thunder play on ESPN against the Bucks.
Film Study from the OKC Thunder first preseason loss
The jaw-dropping takeaway from this game centers around Josh Giddey, who was so good I have already produced three podcasts and two articles about the young guard’s first preseason game. Mark Daigneault announced before the game that Giddey would be inserted into the starting five for his NBA debut. It seems as though this will be a long-term plan for the Oklahoma City Thunder to start their prized sixth overall pick rookie all season long next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Josh Giddey had great highlight passes featuring over-the-head flings, off-hand whip passes to the corner, great pocket bounce passes, and a ton of “potential assists” rather than actual assists. At 18-year’s-old (I have to type that as much as I can before his 19th birthday on Sunday) he looked like a veteran on the floor. his maturity, vision, and passing stood out above the rest.
One of the biggest takeaways from Giddey is how effortlessly he collected 18 points. Without hunting his shot, he attacked the rim with relative ease against NBA defenders. He understands how to use his body to shield the ball from defenders and finish at the rim.
That was an easy takeaway and the biggest story of the game, but the team defense stood out as well throughout the first contest.