Thunder 94-Grizzlies 110 | Rapid Recap

The Thunder GuysOctober 14, 2016 No Comments

The Thunder fell short once again Thursday night as they took on the Grizzlies in Tulsa. The turnout for the game at the BOK Center was amazing as over 17,000 came to the game to show their support for the Thunder. The final score from the game had the Grizzlies on top 110-94.

The Thunder put on an excellent display of shooting. Abrines, Westbrook, and Singler were a combined 12-14 from the three. Abrines tallied up 19 points, Westbrook finished with 17 points, and Kyle Singler had 15. The team showed just how good it could be early in the game. As the game went on, the Thunder got sloppy with the ball and a bit lazy on defense.

Offense Shines Early

The Thunder got off to an extremely hot start early against the Grizzlies as Russell Westbrook scored the first 8 points for OKC. The Thunder seemingly couldn’t miss from beyond the arc to start the game, and the team shot 70% from the field in the first quarter.

Everyone seemed to be knocking down threes with ease.  Westbrook, Sabonis, and Singler all hit an outside shot within the first few minutes of the game. Excellent shooting and great ball movement played a huge part in the Thunder’s 31-17 lead after the first quarter

Struggles in the Second Quarter

The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 41-21 in the second quarter to give them the 58-52 lead at halftime. Russell Westbrook was on the bench for the majority of the second quarter, but that cannot be the blame for lack of performance. Plagued with turnovers and poor defense, the Thunder has to have an answer for when the perimeter starters are not on the floor.

It is almost impossible to win any game when you get outscored by 20 in one quarter. The Thunder struggled to do just about anything before halftime.  Closing out quarters is something the team struggled with last season. This is one area the team must improve before the season starts.

Singler Continues to Show Improvement

Kyle Singler continued to look impressive tonight shooting 5-6 from outside the arc, and he recorded 15 points in just 24 minutes of playing time.  Singler has shown he can be a threat from the outside in the past, but has never had the consistency.

Going back to the Thunder’s last game against Dallas, Singler has made 9 of his last 12 three point attempts. Singler worked hard all summer long putting in countless hours at the gym as he chose to workout with the summer league team instead of taking a vacation. As a guy who has always been hard on Singler, it may be time to start giving the guy some recognition. He could be a huge presence in the Thunder offense that lacks a consistent threat from behind the arc.

Turnovers, Turnovers, and More Turnovers

Turnovers were a huge problem for the Thunder tonight. Even during the incredible first quarter run, there was a point where the team had 4 turnovers in 6 possessions. The Thunder finished the game with 28 turnovers total.

Last year, the team finished 26th in the league in turnovers with 15.6 per game. This is certainly a little unsettling when you look at the turnover amount tonight. Nine different players had turnovers. Singler and Sabonis had the most with four each. Turnovers will kill any team. The impressive 66% from beyond the arc tonight will be overshadowed by the way the team did not take care of the ball.

First Game at the Peake

The Thunder will play the first game of the season at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game will start at 6:00 PM CST and will once again be broadcast on the Thunder website as well as the official Thunder mobile app.

Article written by Craig Hofeld. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter.

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