Young Core Shines Bright During Six-Game Stint

Just over two weeks ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered training camp with a roster that was missing its top two cornerstone pieces. With Chet Holmgren out for the season with a foot injury and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set to miss the entire preseason recovering from a knee issue, the team was overall depleted.

With that in mind, these circumstances presented big opportunities for the more complimentary pieces on the roster to step up. Entering a six-game preseason slate, the Thunder were about to showcase just how bring the future is in Oklahoma City.

After going 5-1 in the preseason, it’s clear that the Thunder have quite a few players that are ready to contribute immediately. While this roster is the second-youngest in NBA history, it should still be competitive on most nights around the league.

From both an individual player and team standpoint, there were quite a few positive trends that emerged from the preseason.

Tre Mann’s Trajectory

Coming into the NBA, the 6-foot-5 guard was knowing for being a microwave scorer. Even last season as a rookie, Mann flashed some incredible self-creation and was clearly one of the better natural scorers on the team.

While he struggled in NBA Summer League recently, the preseason was a different story. The second-year prospect was one of the best 3-point shooters in the entire league over the past two weeks, knocking down 55.9% (19-of-34) of his attempts from beyond the arc.

That number likely isn’t sustainable, but Mann still looks like the best 3-point shooter on this team. On his current trajectory, it appears he could emerge as one of the better bench scorers in the entire league over the next couple of years.

Jalen Williams Is Ready

After being selected No. 12 overall in the recent draft, Williams has done nothing but produce at a high level for the Thunder. He has this natural poise and feel for the game that’s extremely rare for a player of his age.

While most rookies take time to get acclimated to the NBA game and struggle early on, the moment hasn’t felt too big for the Santa Clara product to this point. Regardless of what role he’s playing, he gets the job done at a high level.

In fact, that role looks different every night. Williams is so versatile that one game he could be playing point guard and leading the offense, but the next day play as an undersized power forward. He also looked great defensively in the preseason, leveraging his 7-foot-2 wingspan and generating nearly two steals per game.

Based on what we’ve seen thus far from him, an NBA All-Rookie team feels extremely obtainable this season.

Aleksej Pokusevski Worthy of Starting

Through his first two NBA seasons, Pokusevski has been a volatile project. When he was selected No. 17 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, it was understood that he would take some time to even get comfortable playing at this level.

The upside has looked incredible high at times over the past two years, but he’s also looked fairly lost at other points.

During the preseason, it truly appears as if Pokusevski has figured it out. He understands his role, is keeping the game simple and is making all of the right reads. The 7-footer has stepped up as a center during certain points over the past two weeks, but has also ran point. He even had a game in which he produced ten assists.

If his performance over these six games is any indication of the jump he’s made, Pokusevski has made a real case for a spot in the starting lineup on opening night.

Team Defense

Last season, Oklahoma City was a quality defensive team for the majority of the season. Until the last two months of the season when the roster was essentially dismantled due to injury, the Thunder were consistently a top-ten defense in the NBA.

During the preseason, the defensive upside was showcased once again. Credit is due for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who has the team bought in on that end of the floor. Oklahoma City’s defensive schemes continue to be effective against most offensive styles.

If the Thunder can once again prove to be an above average defensive team this season, they’re going to be set up to emerge as a top-five team on that end down the road when Holmgren makes his return.

Perimeter Efficiency

Oklahoma City has been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA for two-straight seasons. With that in mind, the Thunder were a top-five perimeter shooting team in the NBA throughout the preseason.

This was largely due to a six players shooting better than 40% from deep in the preseason. This shouldn’t be expected moving forward, but it speaks to the shooting upside of this team. Not only did the Thunder make these 3-point shots at a high rate during the preseason, but they also took a ton of them.

In the modern NBA, making triples and playing good defense is a recipe for success. The preseason doesn’t mean much, but if this translates to the regular season, OKC could be a mediocre team.

Obvious Lack of Frontcourt Size

Oklahoma City lacks a traditional center, which is something the team will have to battle all season. The Thunder have found ways to get creative with small lineups, but the lack of size was apparent in the preseason.

Surprisingly enough, OKC didn’t get dominated on the boards throughout the preseason. However, there will most certainly be matchups in the 2022-23 campaign in which the opposing center will dominate the entire game.

This is yet another reason it makes sense for Pokusevski to start this season. He’s not a true center by any means, but he’s the only 7-footer on the roster and provides much needed size.