Five things to watch
The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne offers five things to watch for during the Thunder’s final preseason game set for Tuesday night at Denver.
The Thunder has one more preseason game left Tuesday night against Denver. With preseason shortened, it’ll be the last game for the team until opening night, Oct. 19 against the New York Knicks.
Here are five things to watch for in Denver.
1. The trio together (again)
Due to the conservative return of Russell Westbrook and the gradual minutes increase of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, the Thunder’s new “Big Three” hasn’t had much on-court time together. When on the floor together in two games, the Thunder has shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) in nearly 26 minutes. It’s a small sample size, but the Thunder has also been a plus-5 in point differential when the trio plays together. That figures to improve as the season progresses.
2. 10th man Huestis?
Josh Huestis is entering a fourth professional season and is still an enigma. It’s a critical time for Huestis, not just because he’s fighting for a spot in the Thunder rotation, but the team has until Oct. 31 to pick up his option for 2018-19, valued at $2.24 million. Aside from the climactic end to Sunday’s game against Melbourne United where Huestis had two blocks in the final two minutes, his Thunder contributions have been sparse (just seven appearances). He’s also improved his 3-point shot to 38.5 percent with the Blue last season, and Kyle Singler hasn’t shown anything in the last two seasons to indicate he’s guaranteed a rotation spot. Can Huestis build on Sunday? With the Thunder shifting to more small-ball lineups, does it open up a spot for the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Huestis, who Thunder coach Billy Donovan has continually said is still making the transition from collegiate power forward to NBA small forward?
3. Defensive continuity
Thunder players have mentioned multiple times this preseason their desire to have the No. 1 defense in the NBA. In the second half against Melbourne, shades of that defensive potential started to show. Andre Roberson and Steven Adams ignited the Thunder after a sluggish first half against the Australians, as the Thunder started switching more on defense. Melbourne shot just 28.6 percent after halftime. It’s right on time for a Denver team which was one of the NBA’s best offenses last season.
4. Who gets Felton’s minutes?
Even with Westbrook limited, Isaiah Canaan and Semaj Christon have surprisingly played little in preseason. Donovan has instead opted for 19-yearold Terrance Ferguson off the bench early. Patrick Patterson and Alex Abrines are rotation players who haven’t played this preseason yet, but figure to be among the four to five bench players Donovan counts on most during the regular season (Jerami Grant, possibly Ferguson). Raymond Felton’s wrist injury presents an opportunity for Canaan and Christon to show what they can do one final time in a game setting.
5. Turnovers
Westbrook and Anthony have continually said the new-look Thunder will figure it out. There have been instances where the Westbrook-AnthonyGeorge trio has looked devastating, particularly in the first quarter against New Orleans and Melbourne where the Thunder was 11-of-23 for 34 points. But with Anthony, Westbrook and George on the floor, the Thunder has committed 12 turnovers, and is averaging nearly 18 a game. Westbrook’s ballhandling has been erratic as he works back into form, and errant drives and screens have led to nine offensive foul calls in three games. The officials are in preseason form as well, but so is the Thunder’s ball security.