The Thunder tried to redeem themselves after the loss on Monday night in Dallas. You can tell that the Thunder were playing with different energy at home against the Memphis Grizzlies in the beginning. Both teams were missing key pieces to their offense and defense, for example, Ja Morant, and Chris Paul didn’t play tonight. The OKC Thunder leaned on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Steven Adams for the majority of the game to set the tone offensively but came up short. Steven Adams has impressed all preseason and looks ready for a monster year in his stats. The Big Kiwi finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds on the night as he was able to dominate in the paint. Steven has worked on his post moves and this offseason he’s added the 3 point shot to his arsenal. Steven Adams has been a true leader and has let his game speak for itself as he faced off against Jaren Jackson Jr tonight. You could see the size difference but Steven was quick on his feet and made it hard on the second-year player. The pace that Steven Adams has been playing at this preseason he should easily be in the conversation for MIP with a 20-10 campaign in 2019-2020 season.
Shai Gilgeous Alexander has been able to take advantage of his opportunity as he’s been incredible this preseason. When the Thunder brought him in we knew a little bit of what he brought to the table but this preseason he was showing out. Shai has shown that he can lead and that he can create his own shot with ease. The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t have the answer for Shai as he finished his preseason finale with 17 points. Memphis couldn’t contain Shai but they got the last laugh with the win in OKC. Shai has been a special player to watch and he’s blended right in with the players from last year. The way that Shai attacks the basket is impressive and he does it with finesse. Shai has that old school layup package in NBA2K and he makes it look cool. One thing that he was able to do tonight against the Grizzlies was to use his defense to start fast breaks for his teammates. It’s only Shai’s second year in the NBA and he gets to the free-throw line like a veteran and plays basketball the Thunder way. It would have been cool to see Ja Morant vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight but we will have to save the popcorn for the regular-season matchups.
This team has been clicking on all levels so far and the ball movement has been there every game. The Thunder is moving the ball and it’s flowing without anyone knowing he the plays run for on offense. The last couple of games Danilo Gallinari has been in a great shooting groove and that continued tonight against the Grizzlies. In the game tonight Gallinari had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Gallinari is that sharpshooter that the Thunder has been needing and his ability to knock down shots has been a true addition to this team. One play that stood out tonight was a drive-by Darius Bazley where he was able to wrap the ball around a defender to find the open Gallinari for the 3 pointer. The Thunder made some good plays as a whole tonight but just couldn’t defend Dillon Brooks and get the second-chance points in the paint tonight. Darius played a great overall game tonight as he’s like the swiss army knife of the team. Anything you ask Bazley to do he gets it done. He showed a lot of versatility tonight as he finished with 7 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes.
Memphis has a lot of players that can make an impact on their team. Jaren Jackson Jr. stood out tonight in his matchup against Steven Adams. Jackson Jr added a 3 point shot to his game and has some amazing footwork in the paint. Jackson Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds on the night for the Grizzlies and showed that he can defend at a high level. The Grizzlies are built for the future with Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant. Another player that made a huge impact on the game for the Grizzlies and should take that step in his career is Dillon Brooks. Tonight Brooks finished with 30 points and showed the ability to score off the dribble and attack the basket aggressively. If the Grizzlies can use some of this raw and young talent and mixed it with some veterans like Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala this could be an interesting team to watch on the year.
The Thunder has a lot of potential and this team can definitely gel together with Chris Paul in the mix as well. We still haven’t been able to see how this team can be a full unit. The one player that Thunder fans are waiting to see is Andre Roberson as he’s recovering from his injury. The Thunder didn’t need him in the preseason but they will need him heading into the regular season moving forward.
Photo Credit : Sue Orgrocki/AP
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