By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder have firmly put their 0-4 start far back in their rear view mirror. The Thunder completely dominated the New York Knicks tonight in OKC, just a couple days after doing the same to the Phoenix Suns. The Thunder plastered both teams, reminding Thunder fans how soothing it can be when the Thunder don’t have to worry about winning games in the closing moments against bottom of the barrel NBA teams.
There was never a doubt in this one. OKC was all business in this one, cruising to an easy 128-103 win over the New York Knicks. Here are tonight’s five observations.
ONE: PG Owned This Game
PG was on fire all night long, surpassing last game. He dropped 35 points without playing a minute in the fourth quarter. He shot 13-22 from the floor and 5-11 from behind the arc. He had made 11 threes in the past two games, easily his best two-game stretch of the season. He also played another really well rounded game, as he always does. He rebounded seven times, had five assists, two steals and a block in just 29 minutes. He also had two highlight reel dunks, one in transition off a Steven Adams steal and another off a Patrick Patterson authored alley-oop. Oh, and he did all that while guarding the Knicks best offensive player, Tim Hardaway Jr.. I am really interested what PG will look like once Russ returns because he is in the best zone we’ve seen him this season.
TWO: 32 Assists
The Thunder, even without Russell Westbrook, are moving the ball and finding the open man. The Thunder are playing as unselfish as we have ever seen them to start this season. Whether Westbrook is in the lineup or not, OKC is having everyone chip in with assists. Tonight, Schröder was the high assist man, dishing out 12 himself. But PG had five, Adams had five, Terrance Ferguson had three, Raymond Felton had three, Nerlens Noel had two, and Patterson had one. The guys are moving and getting open and the guys are looking for the open man. 32 assists is high. OKC made their shots tonight. So, the assist numbers might not always look this good, but just know the Thunder seem committed to moving the basketball and finding the open shooter.
THREE: Schröder Fitting In Well
Dennis Schröder was really starting to grow comfortable in his role when Russ went down with his injury. He was really for the first time getting comfortable with Russ himself on the floor. But now Westbrook has missed the last five games and the Thunder have found a way to win four of them, three of which have come in dominating fashion. You can really point to Schröder for that. He’s been incredible and is finding ways to get better and better with each outing. You can tell just how comfortable he is getting with this team. Tonight he was excellent, scoring 15 points on an efficient 5-10 shooting and 3-5 from three. But he also has the team-high 12 assists compared to just three turnovers. He and Steven Adams have such great chemistry and they were showing it off tonight, completely abusing the Knicks in the pick-and-roll. Schröder is just becoming a complete steal in the Carmelo Anthony trade while become vital to this team. The latter wasn’t a given when the move was made this summer. But it is clear that Schröder, no matter if he starts or comes off the bench, isa huge key to OKC’s success this season.
FOUR: Blowing Teams Out Is Nice to See Again
The Thunder were a complete mess last season. It was a roller coaster ride from hell. One night the Thunder would beat the Warriors and the next they’d fall to the Suns. There were so many times where OKC would be in tight games with teams like the Knicks or the Suns. It was impossible to understand how a team as talented as they were would fart around with such poor teams. Heck, sometimes they wouldn’t even show up and they’d just lose. But this Thunder team is different. For the first time since You Know Who has left that OKC is boring again. This isn’t the bad kind of boring, it is the good kind. They one where the fans can trust that their team will play well, even if they are playing the worst teams. It is nice to see and it is a sign that this team is not at all like the frustrating team from last season.
FIVE: OKC Debuts New City Jerseys
These might be the best uni’s the Thunder have put out there, even the Statement navy and orange jerseys. These were completely awesome and the orange accessories that most of the players wore made the combination come to life. These are tremendous and the players really like them as well. These were made specific to honor the Native American Heritage of the state. They knocked it out of the park and I hope we see these many times the rest of the season.
The Thunder are on a roll, winning nine of their last 10 games. The Thunder will next be in action on Saturday night against the Suns, which could be the return game for Russell Westbrook. Tip is set for 8 p.m. inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena.
