New OKC Thunder offense will be better than last year
The new Big Three of the OKC Thunder is leading a group that is more offensively talented, making the team a more one exciting watch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a two-game winning streak in the preseason and they are doing it by spreading the ball on offense. A couple of weeks ago I said that this OKC Thunder offense would work only if Russell Westbrook deferred to Carmelo Anthony and Paul George and this has happened the past two games.
Westbrook made his season debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and scored nine points with four assists. Paul George was the leading scorer with 25 points, and everyone who played scored except Nick Collison. The team shot 48 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3-point range.
On Sunday, the Big Three all played again against Melbourne United and they had the same results. George had 22 points and Anthony had 19. Westbrook had a complete game with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds. All players scored again except for Semaj Christon. The ball has been spreading for the Thunder.
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Last year, the ball was primarily in Westbrook’s hands and he had the highest usage rate in the history of the NBA while averaging a triple-double. Now the Thunder have weapons on their team and it is bringing new life to the arena while helping the Thunder play better basketball.
While this is just the preseason and the real basketball won’t start until next week, the Thunder have to be happy with the fact that the young players they have are contributing to the offense and are making a big impact.
Players like Daniel Hamilton, Terrance Ferguson and Josh Huestis, who had two consecutive blocks to preserve OKC’s win on Sunday, all have contributed as new players to the team. Hamilton had five points with eight rebounds and five assists on Friday against the Pelicans. He did not play on Sunday.
Terrance Ferguson is the Thunder’s 2017 first round pick and he has been playing good basketball. Against NBA competition on Friday, Ferguson had nine points with a plus/minus of +13.
Patrick Patterson and Alex Abrines both have been out this whole preseason so far. They will be crucial components to a Thunder bench that has answered the call to provide offense. Last year, OKC’s second unit was criticized for not being able to score points when Westbrook went to the bench. On Friday the Thunder, won the bench scoring battle 49-47 against the Pelicans. That is a big step in terms of the bench being a threat on offense.
The Thunder will have to be more accurate from the the 3-point mark though, as they shot 34 percent on Friday and 25 percent on Sunday.
United, which is not even an NBA team, made more threes than the Thunder (11-7) and shot a better percentage (35 percent to OKC’s 25 percent). Patterson and Abrines, who both can shoot the three, will help the Thunder in that category when they come back.
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Oklahoma City has a lot of new pieces on the team this year and the ball is moving. Instead of one focal point of the offense, everybody is chipping in. Players are running off screens and cutting to the basket to create offense. The new Thunder offense is one to look out for.