The Charlotte Hornets got the best of a young Thunder team on Monday night in the Paycom Center. Here are some key takeaways from the Charlotte Hornets vs Oklahoma City Thunder.
Josh Giddey is the real deal-
Look, I know it was only a preseason exhibition, but the way Giddey played with pace and let the game come to him was reminiscent of a veteran, not a rookie who has yet to play any regular season basketball. His ability to break down the defense and get to the rim in both the transition and half court game showed potential to be very effective in getting the Thunder some easy looks. He showed above average court vision with cross court skip passes, drop offs, etc. Giddey finished the game with
The Thunder will be a fun team to watch-
Let me preface this by saying the Thunder aren’t likely to win many games this year. They are very young, and lack post depth. But the Thunder will be a fun team to watch. That much was evident in this game even during what technically was a blowout loss. Between Giddey in transition breaking ankles and dishing dimes, Lu Dort knocking down threes and posterizing defenders, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with his crafty shooting and finishing, the Thunder will have multiple opportunities to put together some highlight reels for years to come. Even in defeat, this will be a fun team. Mark my words.
Long way to go-
As I briefly mentioned and referenced in the prior section of this “post game report” there is a long way to go until the Thunder are winning a lot of games and are competing for championships. They are young, and it shows. Aleksej Pokusevski still isn’t sure how to finish in the NBA and still makes some rookie mistakes on his passes. Josh Giddey still isn’t where he needs to be as far as shooting the ball, and the defense is pretty much nonexistent outside at times. But don’t fret, there’s still plenty of time for improvement.
Other notes-
This was just the first of four preseason games for the Thunder, their next bout is this Sunday, October 10th at 7:30 pm ET, and will be televised on ESPN as the Thunder travel to Milwaukee to take on the defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks. We’ll see if any lessons were learned from the Charlotte Hornets vs Oklahoma City Thunder game.