Carmelo Anthony and Paul George displayed their talents in the OKC Thunder’s first preseason game.
Carmelo Anthony and Paul George still have some things to work on in terms of chemistry after a 104-97 loss to the Houston Rockets in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first preseason game.
George has been with the team since the beginning of July after a trade, and Anthony recently got traded to the team on Sept. 23. You could expect some problems with exchanges since Anthony has been with the team less than two weeks.
In the late first half of the team’s preseason opener, Anthony had a clear lane to the basket but instead he passed the ball to George in the corner, who shot a contested 3-pointer. According to ESPN.com Anthony said:
"“I think sometimes we were overthinking it a little bit, trying to be too unselfish,” Anthony said. “I know one time I had it on the wing and think I had a wide-open shot, and I gave it to Paul, and he shot it with like three seconds to go. And I know how that feels, so I felt bad about that. But those are the things that we’ll get better at and knowing each other’s game and knowing where guys are on the court and getting more comfortable.”"
Time together will help the team get better. Eventually they’ll figure out who should have the ball in what situation and how to play games together. It’ll take time on the court together and repetitions in practice, but George and Anthony had a good game nonetheless. Anthony scored the first 10 points for the Thunder en route to 19 points in 19 minutes, while George scored 15 points.
Anthony played the first half and George played until midway into the third quarter. If the Thunder want to have good chemistry and flow, they will need all three of the Big Three on the court at some point during the preseason when the games don’t count. Russell Westbrook has minor knee problems and missed the game.
It doesn’t look serious, as Westbrook participated in contact drills for the first time on Monday. Head coach Billy Donovan told NBA.com that Westbrook looked fine.
"“Russell did more today, which was good,” said coach Donovan. “Today was the first day he did contact…But he looked fine out there. There was no ill effects from anything.”"
Hopefully Russell will be out there soon. Patrick Patterson was also out, still recovering from knee surgery. Alex Abrines has a mild knee sprain and was out also.
The injuries can be a problem for the Thunder but they showed signs of depth, which was one of the problems going into the season. Five players scored in double digits, including three from the bench: Jerami Grant (10), Daniel Hamilton (11), and Isaiah Canaan (11).
Next: 10 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season
Rookie Terrance Ferguson added eight to the Thunder’s 97 points. OKC lost the game, but the positives are the key in a meaningless game.