The Thunder Lowdown: A Weekly Deep Dive | Week 1

Zachary LowOctober 29, 2024 2 Comments

The Oklahoma City Thunder is off to a fantastic start, going 3-0 through week 1 with wins on the road against the Denver Nuggets and the Chicago Bulls before dominating in the home opener against the Atlanta Hawks. For this season, I’ll be doing a weekly rundown of sorts that includes 5-4-3-2-1:

5 Things I Loved
4 Things I Hated
3 Highlights I Liked
2 Things I’d Like To See
1 Bold Prediction

Here’s the beginning to the Thunder Lowdown as we celebrate the first week of what will hopefully be an extremely memorable season.

5 Things I Loved About Week 1

  1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is pulling from deep | Last season, SGA averaged just 3.6 three-point attempts per game, knocking in 35.3% of them. So far through games, he’s putting up 7.7 attempts, and while he’s made just 30.4% of them, I’m glad to see that he’s willing to shoot them. Because of his ability as a player to continually improve his craft, I have very little doubt that we’ll see a jump up in that percentage very soon.
  2. Chet Holmgren looks like an All-Star | Chet had a great rookie season, finishing in second for Rookie of the Year behind Victor Wembanyama, and most importantly, he stayed healthy the entire way. The question coming into this season was whether he was going to be able to make a jump to compete with the league’s top centers, and he’s already looking like an All-Star in a stacked Western Conference with averages of 23.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals—all up from his rookie averages last season. Yes, I realize it’s only been three games, but with the way that he’s playing, it makes sense that he can sustain a high level of success as the season continues.
  3. Team defense is causing all the problems | Plenty of pre-season talk was focused on the potential of the Thunder’s defense, and it has shown itself to more than just talk. Despite shooting pretty poorly in the first two games of the season, OKC was able to lock in defensively, and when they finally did shoot well against the Hawks on Sunday, they won convincingly. So far, the Thunder is holding opponents to 95.3 points and 36.7% shooting from the field, both league lows. OKC is going to be a force on the offensive end, but if the defense continues to play at a ridiculous level like this, then they’re going to be downright unstoppable in the long run.
  4. SO MUCH DEPTH | Through 3 games, 13 different players have seen playing time in each game, and 10 of them are averaging at least 12 minutes per game…and that’s without Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, and Kenrich Williams. I anticipate that head coach Mark Daigneault will tinker with lineups throughout the regular season, much like last season, slowly whittling down who needs to play when. Regardless of who is getting the extra minutes here and there, opposing teams are going to have a tough time keeping up with OKC’s depth.
  5. The vibes are immaculate | The youngest team in the NBA remains as the team that continually is having the most fun. The group post-game interviews are back, the new guys are already barking, and Loud City is going to make it very difficult for the rest of the NBA to leave OKC with a win.

4 Things I Hated About Week 1

  1. FanDuel Sports TV is the only way to watch a lot of Thunder games, and it’s annoying. I don’t have a cable or satellite provider that offers the channel, and I’m not going to pay an outrageous amount of money per month for a streaming service that is in any way or form associated with Bally Sports. I’m dishing out the cash—I spend enough on my season tickets—but trust me, I’ll find a way to watch the games that I’m unable to attend in person.
  2. JDub is off to a rough start | Jalen Williams came into the season as one of the names already in the NBA’s Most Improved Player conversation. He’s struggled through the first three games, and while I’m not worried about it at all, it does suck to see him not playing super well.
  3. Still no JWill or Kenny Hustle | I’m sure the Thunder is in no rush to get Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams back in action, but I miss seeing both guys on the court playing like the absolute DOGS that they are. They are still listed as out, and while I’m guessing that they should return sooner than later, I’m still anxiously awaiting that first JWill charge drawn of the season.
  4. I can’t really think of a fourth thing | Not going to lie, I can’t come up with a fourth thing because I’m really enjoying how the season has started. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to complain about as the season goes on.

3 Highlights I Liked From Week 1

  1. Chet’s block on Jokic followed by the dunk in transition | In the 2023 home opener for OKC, the Denver Nuggets walked into the Paycom Center and laid a 125-98 smackdown on the Thunder. OKC returned the favor this year as played the Nuggets in their home opener, pulling out a 102-87 win that had plenty of highlights, including a disgusting block by Chet Holmgren on Nikola Jokic. The best part about the play was what immediately followed, though. As Jokic wasted his time complaining to an official about what he thought was a foul, Chet got down the court in a hurry just in time to receive a perfectly-placed bounce pass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Holmgren was cutting through the lane for a nasty one-handed dunk.
  1. Cason Wallace posterizes Nikola Vucevic in transition | Cason Wallace is off to a great start to his sophomore season, and on Saturday in Chicago, he lit up the United Center with an incredible dunk in transition. The best part? It was on 6-foot-10-inch Nikola Vucevic. Wallace’s athleticism packed inside his 6-foot-3-inch frame reminds a lot of people of Russell Westbrook, and while they are two very different players, the ferocity with which Wallace dunks the ball can make Thunder fans of old reminisce a bit with a smile on their faces.
  1. JDub’s buzzer-beating tip-in before halftime against Hawks | Jalen Williams has struggled to start the season, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had his share of highlights. In a game that was too close for comfort during the home opener on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks, JDub managed to grab a loose rebound and throw it right it up at the rim right as time expired. The ball fell through the hoop, the crowd—and Dub’s teammates—went wild, and then the best part of the play took place: Jalen walked over to the crowd to get them even more pumped up. After the few months of offseason, it’s good to see his crowd interaction once again.

2 Things I’d Like to See in Week 2

  1. Keep the shooting percentages trending upward | After a rough 42.3% from the field and an abysmal 21.1% from downtown in the first two games, the Thunder got back in track against Atlanta on Sunday as they managed 49.4% from the field and 40% from three. After leading the league in three-point shooting last season, it looked like it was a fluke after those first two games. After a solid outing on Sunday, I’d like to see the shooting percentages continue to tick upward towards last season’s numbers.
  2. Alex Caruso needs more action in the offense | As the new guy, it makes sense that Alex Caruso might not want to inject himself into the game too much too soon. Through three games, he’s averaging just 1.7 points on 3.3 attempts per game. While he’s definitely a capable threat on offense, he was brought in for his defensive capabilities, which are evident by his +/– of +38, good for third on the team. Still, I think it’s important that he find his niche on offense because there will be some games where OKC needs those extra buckets from him.

1 Bold Prediction for Week 2

  1. JDub is going to have a bounceback week | I have complete faith that after a difficult start to the season, Jalen Williams is going to have a solid week against some vulnerable competition. He hasn’t play poorly, but he hasn’t shot the ball all that well, and I think he’s going to have a couple of outstanding games to show everyone that he’s a major part to the Thunder’s future success, both short term and long term.

2 Replies to “The Thunder Lowdown: A Weekly Deep Dive | Week 1”

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