3 Studs, 2 duds from blowout Thunder victory over Denver Nuggets

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a blowout victory over the Denver Nuggets in their fourth preseason game Tuesday night.

The ball club would start the contest a bit slow but eventually pulled off an impressive, rather lopsided 124-94 win.

As expected, many things went the right way for this promising Oklahoma City squad on in the Mile High City. An example is the shooting, as the team shot an impressive 50 percent from the field. 

However, there were also a few concerns that you could see from the team in this contest against Denver.

Nevertheless, this would not stop the Thunder, as they bulldozed their way to a hard-fought victory. 

Here are few studs and a couple of duds from Oklahoma City’s fourth preseason game. 

Studs and duds from blowout Thunder win over Nuggets

Stud: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

What can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not do is the question that should be on everyone's mind.

The MVP frontrunner finished with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting, 5 assists, and a steal in just under 20 minutes of action against the Nuggets. He also cleared up any doubt about his one “hole” in his game with his 3-point shot. 

The superstar went 3-for-6 from behind the arc, showing off how he can extend his range when needed. This was a much-needed addition to his game, as the Thunder are making it known they are going to take more 3-pointers this season.

With his new and improved long-range presence, SGA can provide an even stronger case for MVP this year than he did during his snub-fest 2023-24 campaign.

Another part of the point guard's game that stood out was his playmaking.

With his new pick-and-roll partner Isaiah Hartenstein, you could see Gilgeous-Alexander's assist numbers jump up significantly. 

Oh, and surprisingly, his defense somehow seems to have improved, as Shai is now only further establishing himself as a top two-way player in the NBA. 

Dud: First quarter chemistry 

To some, this might be considered cheating, but, as a collective, OKC's chemistry early on was just flat-out putrid.

In a blowout victory like this one, it is hard to find bad performances by anyone or the team in general. However, with that being said, the first quarter of action was not the prettiest for the team. 

Let's bring up the defensive chemistry.

The Thunder are not used to starting games with a big man like Isaiah Hartenstein. Communication was not a strong suit, rotations looked sloppy at times, and the help side defense was not there.

Throughout the second quarter and as the game rolled along, it became obvious that leaps and bounds of improvement were steadily being made. The Thunder allowed Denver to shoot 60 percent from the field in the first quarter but then held them to 41.7 percent shooting on the night as a whole. 

Then there was the offense.

Though there may not be much to say, as the Thunder managed to drop a whopping 124 points on the night, right out of the gates the screen-game seemed to be quite suspect.

Hartenstein is a big body, and the Thunder need to realize that.

Chet Holmgren no longer needs to set screens constantly, for that role can now fall onto Hartenstein. If OKC can properly learn how to use those screens to help jump out to an early lead, there may be no team that can beat them in a seven-game series. 

However, at the end of the day, this lack of chemistry was to be expected. Fortunately, this should not be a problem for the Thunder come December. 

Stud: Ousmane Dieng

Hats off to the former lottery pick! After a very shaky start to the preseason, Ousmane Dieng had a solid performance against Denver on Tuesday. The Frenchman finished with 10 points, 5 assists, and even registered a block. 

There was just some serious presence about the young stretch four in this matchup.

It seemed he had more life to him, as he was willing to fight for rebounds, dribble with a purpose, and, most importantly, play with confidence. This has been something his game has been lacking the past two years now. 

The G-League star was doing just about everything right on the night. His finishing abilities were on full display, converting a tough and-one bucket late in the game. His playmaking was impressive for a player with his height and size, finding the open man on multiple occasions.

That said, the most impressive aspect was the fact he played like he was 6-foot-10. No longer is he playing with the mentality of a guard, but, instead, a power forward and at times even a center! 

If there were to be one negative takeaway about his performance, though, it would be his 3-point shooting. Going 1-for-5 is not ideal, but when you play like he did in every other aspect of the game, you can live with it. 

Dud: Free-throw shooting

Once again, this feels like cheating.

It is extremely hard to find any duds from Oklahoma City's fourth preseason game, however, one thing that's for certain is the fact no team should shoot 65 percent from the free-throw line. 

Yes, it was a small sample size on the night, as the Thunder only found themselves at the charity stripe 20 times, knocking down 13 of their attempts. For a fantastic shooting team like OKC, one would have expected them to go 16-for-20 from the line. 

It also does not help when they only get to the line this many times in four quarters. That number needs to jump up to at least 30.

Take advantage of the fact you are a good free-throw shooting team. They need to see guys like SGA and J-Dub get more free throws. Also, it is clear Hartenstein needs to work on this part of his game after going 3-for-7. 

If the Thunder expect to get to the NBA Finals, and even win, they have to play into this strength. 

Stud: Isaiah Joe 

It is time to start the petition to get Isaiah Joe to the 3-point competition. The 3-and-D bench option went an insane 4-for-8 from long distance in the victory against Denver. 

After a rocky start to the preseason, Joe may have silenced any of the doubters after this latest performance. Just about every shot he took was a long-range shot, and it seemed like the basket was wide open for him. 

The wing also showed off how he can be a possible option to start games for the Thunder at some point down the line. This would allow OKC to have a 3-point threat sitting in the corner, or fighting off screens to get open and let the long-ball fly.

If the Thunder want to play into the 3-point shot this season, more players need to have Joe’s mentality. 

Should he pour in more performances like this during the season, Thunder fans could see another change to the starting lineup that involves Joe cracking the first-five rotation.