By Michael Doutey
The state of Oklahoma got a little bit of a palate cleanser from yesterday’s defensive debacle from OU and OSU with some preseason Thunder basketball Sunday afternoon. OKC welcomed the Atlanta Hawks and former OU standout Trae Young to the BOK Center for a preseason tilt.
OKC got off to a slow start in the first quarter but turned it on and went on the blow out the Hawks 113-94. The Thunder move to 2-1 in the preseason and closeout the preseason schedule on Tuesday in Oklahoma City against the Milwaukee Bucks. Here are today’s five observations.
ONE:
Early in the first quarter, Terrance Ferguson took a hit to the head and was held out in concussion protocol. Billy Donovan turned to rookie Hamidou Diallo and Diallo delivered. Hami played 25 minutes and displayed way more than just his elite athleticism. He showed off his defense with a block, he scored 13 points on 4-8 shooting and went 5-6 from the line. He had five rebounds and, while doing his best Steven Adams impression, Diallo grabbed four offensive rebounds. I think he has a higher upside that Ferguson. Diallo might be the right guy to fill the Andre Roberson role until Dre can come back.
TWO:
PG had himself a day after getting off to a slow start. PG got caught fire in the second quarter and he took off from there. Paul scored 22 points on 5-16 shooting including 9-10 from the line to lead the Thunder. But PG was fantastic on defense, especially off the ball. He had six steals. He was really good on the defensive end tonight. This is a pretty nutty stat, but PG was a plus-30 in his 25 game minutes. That’s impressive even for preseason against one of the worst teams in the league
THREE:
Schroder had another really nice game. Against his former team, Dennis scored 20 points on an efficient 9-14 shooting and hit one of the two three point attempts he took. He also had a really impressive block on Trae Young in transition. Schroeder pulled down seven rebounds and dished out six assists. Just like PG, Dennis was a plus-30 in his 27 minutes of action.
FOUR:
The Thunder bench really got the Thunder on track scoring in this game. The OKC bench scored 57 points collectively, lead by Diallo with 13. Alex Abrines was the only other bench player to score in double figures with 10. He was 2-6 from three. Jerami Grant scored eight points, two-way player Deonte Burton added nine and Felton finished with six. Bench scoring has been a strong point in the preseason and could be even better once Russell Westbrook returns and Schroder goes back to the bench and fills his sixth man role.
FIVE:
This game took forever, or it at least felt like it. There were so many fouls called. There were so many traveling calls. So many that it felt like it was a summer league game. There were 63 foul calls in the game. Yuck. Thankfully regular season action is right around the corner.
OKC hosts the Bucks on Tuesday night for the Thunder’s last dress rehearsal before everything gets going fully on October 16th. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the Peake.
