Oklahoma City Thunder core plays together for first time in preseason, looks as good as ever – NBA Feature
For the first time in the preseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder played its traditional starting five to open the game and gave somewhat extended minutes to its team core. And the Thunder were back where they had been throughout the past NBA season, at the top of the game. The Thunder defeated a good looking Denver Nuggets team 108-101 in the fixture at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday night.
The Thunder were back to their usual explosive self, coming at the Nuggets fast in the early going and taking a 30-19 lead at the end of the first period. After the Nuggets staged a comeback over the next two periods, the Thunder core then sat on the sidelines and saw their reserve players finish the job by outscoring the Nuggets 27-20 in the final period. It was a great sight to see the Thunder core playing together and responding well to each other. They seemed in sync and on step with each other, as if they had never stopped playing together. By defeating the Nuggets with relative ease, the Thunder once again proved that they are the most organic team in the NBA and have perhaps the best team chemistry out of all the teams.
Kevin Durant played almost 30 minutes and scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Serge Ibaka also had 16 points and 4 rebounds for the night, going 7 of 9 from the field. Thabo Sefolosha started the game at the two guard and had 8 points and 4 rebounds. Russell Westbrook had 11 points and 9 assists on the night, going 3 of 5 from three point range. James Harden also added 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench in his traditional 6th man role, and the reserves Daequan Cook and Reggie Jackson sealed off the win, with Cook scoring 13 points and Jackson finishing with 10 points.
The Thunder shot above 40 percent from both the field and the distance, and put up a decent rebounding and defensive effort as well to restrict the fast paced high scoring Nuggets to 101 points. It was the first time since the NBA Finals that the Thunder core was seen in action, and if anything the game proved that they were championship contenders yet again this season.
There have been many talks in the NBA about the Los Angeles Lakers since they acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the offseason. However, Howard recently played his first game for the Lakers and recorded a double double, but the team lost the game. For the Lakers, they will need time to come together after playing their own brand of basketball for much of their careers.
The biggest advantage the Thunder has over any other team in the league is that they have been playing together for plenty of seasons now, and have witnessed success over the years as a team, rather than relying on foreign imports to make them championship contenders. And that is going to be their biggest weapon in the playoffs next season, when they go against some of the best teams in the league. But for now, it was good to see the Thunder not missing a step, easily adjusting back into their roles in the team and making for one great night of basketball action.
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