Will the bigs hold up?
For the longest time, having a very thin front line was the knock for the OKC Thunder. Some even consider this to be hindering them from reaching their full potential this season.
The Thunder have been the third-worst rebounding team in the league. They are 17th in contested rebounds and 16th in rebound chances. Long story short, they have been mid to bad in the rebounding department.
Their only bigs in the rotation are 7-foot-2 Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, and Ousmane Dieng. Meanwhile, Olivier Sarr remains outside the rotation, alongside Bismack Biyombo, who has yet to play.
The addition of Biyombo is expected to boost the Thunder in this department, but at his six-foot-nine build, the OKC faithful need to hold their breath.
At the end of the day, it will also come down to a collective effort to pull as many boards as possible. With the length of the guard positions and a retooled forward rotation, the Thunder can hope for help in this facet.
But more than rebounding, the defense is a dilemma, especially against taller and heftier teams. While the Thunder remains lengthy at other positions, they will have to work double-time in guarding the likes of Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, and Anthony Davis in the West.
Offsetting these deficiencies should be on top of every game plan for the Thunder.