The Thunder have plenty to learn from their last matchup against the Spurs.
Oklahoma City will be part of welcoming the new NBA season, as they take on the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday for opening night. This game will finish off the night and is one of the most anticipated, as these two teams faced off against each other last year in the Western Conference Finals.
Unfortunately, this would be a matchup that OKC would lose, and one that they are looking to get revenge for this season. Opening night will, of course, be the teams’ first bout of the year, and one that could set the tone for the regular season series and possibly the playoffs. Oklahoma City has plenty to look at to see what they need to do differently, and will need to get these issues fixed immediately.
To start off, the age-old issue with Oklahoma City last year was the team's offensive rebounding. Not only were the Thunder not very good at it themselves, but they allowed too many. In the conference finals, Victor Wembanyama averaged over three offensive rebounds per game by himself, and Stephon Castle averaged over two. It’s hard to stop the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama from grabbing misses, but OKC will have to find a way to get a body on him and stop him from killing the Thunder on the glass.
Another big problem is the number of threes OKC allows San Antonio to shoot. The Thunder weren’t good at limiting teams to threes during the regular season, but things did not get better in the playoffs. If you allow players open looks, they are going to take them, and the Spurs had the players who could hit the shots. Both Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie averaged over seven attempted threes a game, with guys like Wembanyama and Castle supporting them, with Wembanyama shooting over five a game and Castle over four.
Oklahoma City will have to find a way to limit San Antonio’s shots from deep on Tuesday night, or else they will make it rain just like they did last summer. Finally, the biggest thing that needs to be fixed, and already is, is the Thunder’s health.
Last season, both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell didn’t participate in most of the series due to injuries. However, both are back and ready to play on Tuesday and are ready to show why OKC would have had a much better shot in the series with both of them present. The Thunder can show the world they still deserve to be the most feared team in the land, but must fix these issues if they want it to start on Tuesday night against the Spurs.
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