OKC Thunder 2022-23 Regular Season Discussion

[Devilanche]

Still need cut some of them . I guess Burke and Chriss first to go .

[Balkman32]

Read on Twitter

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[timO]

Scrubs for free

[Mr Thunder Nick]

Chriss seems to me however the only one whom we could need. Sad about Theo. Like Vit I like him a lot.

[Dadouv47]

well the goal is clearly to give as many minutes as possible to our promising young players, so I like it even if I wanted to keep Theo. Sucks that Chet is out of course because it would change our entire roster

[retrobro90]

Seems like every player had glowing things to say about Tre Mann through training camp. Excited to watch him get buckets in preseason. Headed to the game in tulsa on Oct 5th to watch him in person

[Balkman32]

Looks like David Nwaba will get a chance to stick with the team.

[Dadouv47]

Mann hype is real

[retrobro90]

Mann hype is real

He's head and shoulders above just about everyone who played tonight when it comes to breaking down his man 1 on 1 and his defense tonight was exponentially better than what he exhibited last year. Surprised he only ended with 1 steal because it felt like he was getting his hands on everything.

[retrobro90]

Couple brief takeaways here from a preseason game where little can be taken away:

Not trying to be too much of a homer here too so I'll start by saying Giddey's iso shot creation leaves a lot to be desired. He can't be getting blocked trying to post up Ish Smith. That said--

He absolutely got his when it came to scoring within the flow of the offense. The finishing is looking better. The J obviously went in tonight in the 2nd half. Zooming out though I just think he gets so underrated by most of the general nba fan base. Got a lot of undeserved hate this summer (and some fair criticism tbh) but I think if you look at his full package of what he's bringing to the table it's extremely impressive for a guy who is literally still a teenager. Pleasure to watch him play.

Bazley. My goodness. Last year he really stuck out in that 6th man role partly because he was essentially the only plus athlete on the team. This year amongst other guys who can do things on the wing or in transition his terrible IQ and feel portrays him as the basketball embodiment of a record scratch. 4th year now watching him stumble into traffic and miss badly from 3. He held it for 7 seconds on one possession tonight then hoisted at end of the clock and Michael Cage immediately praised him with a "see I like that shot from Mr. Bazley".

Mark's decision to start Poku over Bazley makes a lot of sense not only for development but he's flat out a smarter player who's not disrupting the flow of the offense. Saw a couple finishes and some attempts at the rim from him tonight too that show some big improvements in his willingness and strength level. Cautiously optimistic moving forward but I liked his game tonight and think he's too often used as a punchline for those who never watch him play.

Ousmane is still timid. Knew it going into the draft. Hope that changes but for now it's who he is as a player and it's a shame because the best flashes of his are him attacking his man. Worried because PF is gonna be a very competitive spot for minutes this year and going forward for us. If a franchise spends 3 firsts getting you then they think you can start down the road and to put it bluntly I don't think he has the passion to be better than whoever ends up earning those minutes in the long term.

[BlazersBroncos]

Mark's decision to start Poku over Bazley makes a lot of sense not only for development but he's flat out a smarter player who's not disrupting the flow of the offense. Saw a couple finishes and some attempts at the rim from him tonight too that show some big improvements in his willingness and strength level. Cautiously optimistic moving forward but I liked his game tonight and think he's too often used as a punchline for those who never watch him play.

I think the crowd was pretty off on Poku, myself included. He was seen as a guy that had no middle ground, a All Star unicorn or a total bust. To me its starting to look like his role in this league is as a utility type. A well rounded role player that is best as that 4-5th option in a starting lineup. He makes good passes, can handle enough to be an excellent 3rd ballhandler (But is overwhelmed when asked to be a 1 or 2), moves the ball well, plays better defense than he gets credit for (And is nice switching onto SF especially from the PF spot, and at least has the length if not strength to bother when switched to a non-massive 5).

Poku playing as a utility guy that can pass and dribble a bit is much more optimal than the idea of him as a pure point-forward type. If he can get his 3PT to 35%+, and keep building out on understanding his role as a swiss army knife role player rather than point-forward unicorn, he will have a role in this league.

[retrobro90]

Love watching Poku against maccabi raanana. Very in control and patient while making big impact on both ends. So many times tonight he's been responsible for getting a stop at the rim then being a monster grab n go threat in transition. It's all preseason and not always real nba teams but he's got some new patience and understanding he didn't used to have while being just marginally more built to withstand the other bodies in the paint.

[Devilanche]

Hopefully that means he getting used to NBA speed.

[slick_watts]

the only takeaway i have from preseason is the shocking continuance of poku starting over bazley. the only other time i can recall the thunder making a change like this that wasn't caused by an injury is steven adams finally usurping kendrick perkins. it's a very strong statement on how the team feels about both poku and bazley imo.

some of the list weights reported by the thunder are also interesting- poku listed at 210 would be a 16 pound increase or so from last season? seems unbelievable.

we're all waiting to see shot making development and that's just impossible to assess in preseason so i have nothing else to add.

[Old Man Game]

the only takeaway i have from preseason is the shocking continuance of poku starting over bazley. the only other time i can recall the thunder making a change like this that wasn't caused by an injury is steven adams finally usurping kendrick perkins. it's a very strong statement on how the team feels about both poku and bazley imo.

some of the list weights reported by the thunder are also interesting- poku listed at 210 would be a 16 pound increase or so from last season? seems unbelievable.

we're all waiting to see shot making development and that's just impossible to assess in preseason so i have nothing else to add.

Considering body type and activity level it's a wonder some of these guys ever add significant weight and yet they always do. He won't be 194 forever.

As for baze he had been given a ton of opportunity. It is what it is. Reminds me of Terrence Ferguson situation somewhat. Just doesn't quite have it.

[Dadouv47]

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now I don't understand why the Rockets made that trade with us.

[retrobro90]

Nice W in the motor city tonight. Couple takeaways from another preseason game where the takeaways should be taken away with a grain of salt.

Giddey's J is undeniably improved. If he's improved to anywhere above 32% percent this year I'm elated but the confidence difference is clear from his early 1st quarter heat check. He wanted to kill Cade tonight too. Giddey stood up Cade defending him in the post then ripped and ran with Cade's miss real hard into his chest. I kinda feel like they're not crazy about each other starting with Giddey's first summer league play being a dunk on Cade. Something to monitor even though it's not all that explicit and maybe i'm reading too hard into it.

Jalen Williams is awesome and I think everyone scouting him in college had a lot of errors with their evaluations. He's a legit athlete and someone who can absolutely get by his man. Every scouting report seemed to indicate that he had no burst but was a great shot maker. Right now in the preseason he's been abysmal on his J and his FT but he's getting to the rim at will. The playmaking is also impressive and I probably take it for granted considering how many high level passers we currently employ.

Best version of Ousmane came out in the 2nd half today. When most pundits/announcers say about a player "He has to stay aggressive" or "He's at his best when he's aggressive" it's honestly pretty lazy analysis and cliche but for Ous specifically I would offer that sentiment. When he looks to score or attack his man he looks like a future star player. And I'm fully admitting that as someone who truly did not want him on the squad pre-draft.

Poku at the 5 is awesome and he absolutely destroyed Duren in the first half. I'm so proud of our serbian stickbug and I'm loving his metamorphosis into modern 7ft Kirilenko.

If we wish to stop tanking I think Darius Bazley needs to be given an iPad with Minecraft on it so he can sit on the bench like a kid in the waiting room at the Dr's office. Would add at least 10 wins to the total this year.

[Dn4sty]

I wonder if the Thunder win total ends up being a decent number over their projections because there is more talent than a lot of national people realize, and because more teams than normal will pull the plug for Victor.

[Devilanche]

Pre-season sounds great so far .

I hope this means we cut our losses with Bazely (in terms of no extension and reduced bench role if not traded away )

[slick_watts]

Giddey's J is undeniably improved.

i'm reminded of the dion waiters preseason 42% 3pt fiasco.

undeniably is a strong word for ~20 attempts. i'd want closer to 200 before even starting to come to any conclusions.