OKC Thunder: What we learned in the second preseason game

The OKC Thunder rookies have stepped up through two games

After starting rookie guard Josh Giddey in the first preseason game, Mark Daigneault doubled down and started both Giddey and fellow rookie big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder head ball coach has proven he is not scared to play first-year players heavy minutes. A year ago, Rookie Theo Maledon led the squad in minutes while rookie forward Aleksej Pokusevski was a staple of the starting lineup after returning from the G-League Bubble.

Starting Josh Giddey is not a surprise and a move that will excite the OKC Thunder fanbase. Giddey making back-to-back starts seems like a lock for the first five in Utah on October 20th for the regular-season opener. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who earned the start tonight, is less of a lock but certainly an interesting story to follow.

The Oklahoma City Thunder used Robinson-Earl the same way they used Al Horford a year ago. He was a high-post facilitator and played well within a two-man game with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Robinson-Earl was awesome in Pick-and-Pop situations and found the soft spot of the Bucks defense that of course was preoccupied with Gilgeous-Alexander.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl launched a career-high eight threes, more than he ever attempted in a single game in college, two of them went down but they all felt good. A willing and confident shooter in that small ball group with SGA does wonders for the Thunder.

Defensively, there were times when Robinson-Earl rotated wrong and gave up open looks and of course it is hard to defend the rim even if you stuck BOBAN in the middle vs the Bucks. Overall, he is a quality defender, going up against the Bucks is not a good measuring stick for any small-ball big.

Tre Mann, after looking shellshocked at times Monday, was a different person Sunday. The Florida product not only scrapped for six rebounds but launched five triples. Sure, only one went down, but that is not the point. For Mann, it is about the process, not the result.

Mann is undersized, and everyone around training camp has noted his struggles early on figuring out when and how to get his shot off against the lengthy and athletic NBA players. If you watch any film on the rookie, you know he can shoot the lights out of the gym. So I am not worried about missed shots in the early stages of his career.

He simply needs to figure out how to get his shots off at the NBA level. Mann showed nice flashes in this game during his 21-minutes of action. While the G-Leauge might still be the best route for him early in the season, the big strides he made in just a week are encouraging.