The Oklahoma City Thunder have already played three preseason games, two of which came in the state of Oklahoma already. After a tough three-game in four nights stretch, including the rare preseason back-to-back, the OKC Thunder had a few days off to prepare for tonight’s game with Ra’Anana Maccabi.
This is the final non-NBA team the Oklahoma City Thunder will face off with as they enter this game 2-1 with wins over the Denver Nuggets and Adelaide 36ers so far in their exhibition slate. Their lone loss was to the Dallas Mavericks in Tulsa at the BOK Center. Getting set to head on up to the Paycom Center, what should you watch for tonight as the OKC Thunder take the hardwood for their fourth preseason game?
What to watch for in the fourth OKC Thunder preseason game, Tre Mann’s scoring, Josh Giddey’s passing, and Lu Dort’s debut
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a length injury report already in early October. Mark Daigneault has already announced that he does not expect to see veteran big man Mike Muscala in the preseason slate as he is dealing with an ankle sprain. Chet Holmgren is of course out for the year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is dealing with an MCL sprain, Kenrich Williams has a groin injury, Jalen Williams has strep throat, and Ousmane Dieng has a knee contusion.
As we inch closer to tip-off, we will hear an update from the bench boss on how many, if any, of those players are back for this contest, but we do know Lu Dort will make his season debut.
Lu Dort’s offensive role
Lu Dort suffered a concussion in the final practice before the first preseason game, and that has sidelined him since. Now, he is ready to make his 2022-23 debut after being held out for the second half of last season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.
With a more flushed-out roster, and a shiny new contract, what does Lu Dort’s offensive role look like this season, and can he make a leap in efficiency? That is perhaps the biggest thing worth watching in this game.
Tre Mann looking for offensive consistency
Tre Mann dazzled the Paycom Center on Thursday night blitzing home eight triples against the 36ers on his way to a team-high 26 points. Mann was on fire missing just two shots all night in only 23 minutes of action.
The Sophomore guard had a scoring outburst in the first preseason game as well, against a healthy Denver Nuggets squad, but slowed a bit against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Tonight, the Florida product will attempt to put back-to-back explosive scoring performances together as he represents the best bucket getting on the floor with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined due to that MCL sprain.
Josh Giddey’s improvement
We have seen Josh Giddey improve his dribbling and rim fishing throughout Summer League and the start of preseason, mixing that with his already elite passing, and his ever-improving jump shot thanks to the hiring of Chip Engelland, and Josh Giddey easily becomes one of the most fun players to watch.