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37 steals, 30 blocks, 60 turnovers forced in 3 games.

Seems like trading mid Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso and removing washed Gordon Hayward from the rotation has created a super defensive juggernaut. Trae was in handcuffs against a second year guard in Cason Wallace tonight. No wonder these NBA stars don't want hand checking to make a comeback.

Thats a lot of turn over forced in 3 games. I was wondering what removing Josh Giddeys minutes would do but replacing him with Caruso has been beautiful.

Shai is averaging 5 stocks and isn't even leading the team (that would be Chet with 5.3).

The defense looks as monstrous as we imagined. Last night against the Hawks, the 4th quarter rolled around and the Thunder decided: okay no one on Atlanta is allowed to dribble. Trae Young ended the game with 10 turnovers. Imagine trying to find a matchup to attack and your choices are: Caruso, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, or Shai. Oh and Chet is waiting behind them + doesn't get abused on a switch. Jalen Williams and Shai are both guys who get all-defense consideration and they're often the worst defenders in a Thunder lineup lol

It wasn't just clamping down. The stops were LOUD. They were ripping the ball out of guys hands, or swallowing up shot attempts. Atlanta was having a nice little game and then OKC decided to stop playing around.

OKC is seriously scary! They looked like an obvious contender before adding Caruso. That might very well be the biggest pickup of the year.

a team hasn't had 30 blocks and 35 steals in any three game span since the warriors in 2017.

dhsilv2 wrote:OKC is seriously scary! They looked like an obvious contender before adding Caruso. That might very well be the biggest pickup of the year.

As predicted by yours truly. But wait until you see Hartenstein. Even bigger pickup than Caruso, and better player.

Thunder definitely looking good.

Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure adding Caruso would be a good move. Huge hustle and defensive utility coupled to outside shooting? Immediate recipe for success.

Between Caruso and I Hart, Presti might have finally leanred how to put the finishing touches on a roster.

ThunderBolt wrote:Between Caruso and I Hart, Presti might have finally leanred how to put the finishing touches on a roster.

I literally said when he got both that the Thunder are the most complete roster in basketball on both ends. Not saying this because I’m some genius, but more that I’m surprised so many didn’t realize the holes those two addressed. They needed another big, especially a physical one who can mix it up on both ends in the paint and pass (Harteinstein is an offensive hub by himself), and another POA defending wing/guard. They got both.

Cason Wallace is another guy I hyped a lot last season. He’s a beast. Gonna be in the league a long time.

OkcSinceSGA wrote:

dhsilv2 wrote:OKC is seriously scary! They looked like an obvious contender before adding Caruso. That might very well be the biggest pickup of the year.

As predicted by yours truly. But wait until you see Hartenstein. Even bigger pickup than Caruso, and better player.

And still, their biggest improvement compared to last year could be Chet playing like he has added at least 30 lbs of muscles during summer.

Obviously, he looked great last year too, but I really like additional grit and aggressiveness he has added to his game. Somewhat concerned about his 3P and FT percentages but quite sure it's just a slump.

They are a very scary team with their two new additions and their core is still young and improving....

Un4given wrote:

OkcSinceSGA wrote:

dhsilv2 wrote:OKC is seriously scary! They looked like an obvious contender before adding Caruso. That might very well be the biggest pickup of the year.

As predicted by yours truly. But wait until you see Hartenstein. Even bigger pickup than Caruso, and better player.

And still, their biggest improvement compared to last year could be Chet playing like he has added at least 30 lbs of muscles during summer.

Obviously, he looked great last year too, but I really like additional grit and aggressiveness he has added to his game. Somewhat concerned about his 3P and FT percentages but quite sure it's just a slump.

Very good point. Chet’s leap seems insane so far

I’m not saying that OKC isn’t great, but while they’ve “forced” 20.7 turnovers a game, the Sixers, who are no defensive juggernaut, have “forced” 20.3. Two less total.

In the first 3 games, teams can be expected to turn the ball over, some more than others.

shrink wrote:I’m not saying that OKC isn’t great, but while they’ve “forced” 20.7 turnovers a game, the Sixers, who are no defensive juggernaut, have “forced” 20.3. Two less total.

In the first 3 games, teams can be expected to turn the ball over, some more than others.

OKC led the league in turnovers forced last year too though. Swapping out Caruso for Giddey on top of that means it is very likely to happen again.

DrModesty wrote:

shrink wrote:I’m not saying that OKC isn’t great, but while they’ve “forced” 20.7 turnovers a game, the Sixers, who are no defensive juggernaut, have “forced” 20.3. Two less total.

In the first 3 games, teams can be expected to turn the ball over, some more than others.

OKC led the league in turnovers forced last year too though. Swapping out Caruso for Giddey on top of that means it is very likely to happen again.

I’m comfortable with what I wrote, and I don’t disagree with you.

I’m just saying any stat, three games into the season, particularly opponents turnovers, doesn’t really move my opinions around.

FWIW, Memphis was second in the league in forcing turnovers last year.

Anyone who has watched more than five minutes of Cason in the last few years would realise he's an incredible defensive player. It's almost unfair how many defensive weapons they have.

Chet, Wallace, Dort and Caruso are all-Defense level guys. Then you still have SGA, Jalen and Wiggins who are very competent too.

Not to mention Hartenstein still to come in.

Them and Boston are in a league of their own.

ThunderBolt wrote:Between Caruso and I Hart, Presti might have finally leanred how to put the finishing touches on a roster.

Long gone are the days when Presti thought adding Kendrick Perkins was a good move.

As soon as they got Caruso I got this sinking pit in my stomach. It felt like I imagined other teams felt when the Lakers traded for Gasol. I just knew it was gonna **** everything up for everyone.

OkcSinceSGA wrote:

ThunderBolt wrote:Between Caruso and I Hart, Presti might have finally leanred how to put the finishing touches on a roster.

I literally said when he got both that the Thunder are the most complete roster in basketball on both ends. Not saying this because I’m some genius, but more that I’m surprised so many didn’t realize the holes those two addressed. They needed another big, especially a physical one who can mix it up on both ends in the paint and pass (Harteinstein is an offensive hub by himself), and another POA defending wing/guard. They got both.

Cason Wallace is another guy I hyped a lot last season. He’s a beast. Gonna be in the league a long time.

I'm pretty sure everybody came to the conclusion that those two holes were filled with Hart and Caruso. It's not rocket science to see how bad of a fit Giddey was with the core and how overmatched Chet was against Dallas' front line. With that said, those numbers are redonk when you consider that Hart didn't even play.

The Thunder are 1st in DRTG @90.8 and have sizeable lead over the Dubs @95.9 who have big lead over the Clips at @103.2. They are nearly 13pts better than the 3rd place team