The Thunder had their foot on the gas all day long against Golden State. This was the first time we were able to get a glimpse of what this team could look like clicking on all cylinders. If OKC can get some strong nights from anyone other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Paul, and Steven Adams this could be a playoff team The Thunder defense was all over the Warriors swarming them and making sure that Stephen Curry wasn’t able to get any good looks from the field. It looked as though the rest of the Warriors were struggling and the Thunder capitalized on it scoring 19 points on their turnovers. This was an overall performance from the OKC Thunder as they were able to have 5 scorers in double figures on the evening. The Thunder shot 55% percent from the field and were able to use defense to convert offense. The Thunder did everything right tonight from the hustle plays to the rebounding.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been able to show a lot of growth in his 2nd season in the NBA. The way he’s playing the game looks pretty easy and effortless. Shai has been able to get his shot off whenever he wants and he’s been able to glide into the paint with beautiful finishes as well. One thing that Shai showed off today against the Warriors is that he can create space for his jump shot. SGA finished the game with 19 points on the night and showed that he can get it done against a potential playoff team in the Golden State Warriors. Shai looked good but tonight was about the other guys as Danilo Gallinari was about to get his 3 point shot going tonight against the Warriors. Gallinari was knocking down jumpers at a high rate and this is what the Thunder expected when they got him in the offseason. Gallinari was able to space out the floor for the team and drained every shot when given a little bit of space as he finished the game with 21 points on the night. Terrance Ferguson was able to get his game going and that was a breath of fresh air to all the Thunder fans waiting for his impact on a game. T-Ferg scored 13 and was able to hit those shots that he wasn’t able to the last two games. When Ferguson has the confidence and he’s making that corner 3 pointer his nights look a lot brighter. Ferguson was aggressive and attacked the basket on those back door cuts. That’s what OKC needs from him and he delivered today in a big way against the Warriors.
The Thunder got their momentum going off of the game of Dennis Schröder when he was rolling in the 2nd quarter. The way that Dennis hustled and was able to create for others opened the flood gates for this win. Schröder’s 6th man of this team and he was able to set the tone as he scored any way he wanted offensively in this game. If he can bring this energy and play night in and night out the Thunder could be a serious contender. Scrhöder finished with 22 points on the night. The one player that hasn’t shown his true colors so far even though he’s affected the game in other areas has been Chris Paul. When CP3 gets his game going this team could be a scary sight for any other team playing them moving forward. CP3 has shown the leadership but OKC fans will need for him to get it going offensively as he finished today with 10 points. When CP3 gets his assists and scoring going to add to what they did today against the Warriors this could something special.
The only bright spot for the Golden State Warriors today was Stephen Curry as he finished with 23 points. He was able to get his shot off when he wanted too but things were different without his other Splash Brother. The Warriors are in different territory as they’re trying to gel together new players that weren’t on the team last year. D’Angelo Russell was terrible tonight as he went 3/10 shooting with 6 points before he was ejected for getting in the referees face. This Warriors team is going to have some growing pains and their first win will have to wait on the season.
The Thunder have a quick turnaround as they will be heading to Houston to take on James Harden/Russell Westbrook after a back to back.
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