Oklahoma City Thunder Still Have Much Work To Do, But Showing True Grit

By Brian Anderson @MrAnderson035 on November 2, 2014

The Oklahoma City Thunder and their band of replacement players managed to win their first game of the season on Saturday night as the team defeated the Denver Nuggets 101-92. Things looked pretty grim for the Thunder when Kevin Durant went down and even more so when we learned that Russell Westbrook would possibly miss more than four weeks of action. However, the Thunder came out the gates swinging and didn’t look back.

The Nuggets managed to pull close in the fourth quarter, but OKC had the game in control from start to finish. Perry Jones III followed up on his remarkable performance from Thursday night, scoring 23 points on 50 percent shooting from the field in the win. Among the remaining Thunder players, it looks like Jones will be the primary scorer during the Thunder’s stretch without their star players.

Serge Ibaka will also play a huge part in the team’s success, as he will be required to carry a hefty load on both ends of the floor. Against the Nuggets, he scored 23 points, helping Jones carry OKC to their first victory of the 2014-15 NBA season. The Thunder big men actually put together a great outing as a unit. Kendrick Perkins contributed 17 points and five rebounds while only missing one shot from the field. Steven Adams added 13 points on 60 percent shooting.

We’ll have to wait to see whether their outstanding play will carry over as OKC prepares to travel to New York on Monday to take on the Brooklyn Nets in the first of back-to-back contests. Lance Thomas has added a much-needed spark off the Thunder’s bench in their first three games. He’s averaging 10 PPG, four RPG and two APG so far this season. His contribution is a big reason why the Thunder offense hasn’t take as big of step back as most people expected early on.

A glaring weak spot for OKC right now is their point guard position. Sebastian Telfair is struggling mightily, and he’s the only guard capable controlling the ball with limited mistakes. Telfair is averaging only six points, two rebounds and six assists per game to start the season. If OKC is going to manage to stay afloat above the .500 mark without multiple key players, Telfair will have to find a way to make his unorthodox style of play work for the Thunder during these tough times.

Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Anthony Morrow are all expected to be healthy enough to return to action within a few weeks. Their addition will surely make the Thunder a much better team. The time that the young players are getting without the usual suspects on the floor will prove to be valuable as the season rolls on.

By the time the Thunder start to get their key players back, their role players will be accustomed to carrying a heavier load than usual, something that will prepare them to play above expectations when they return to their normal roles on the Thunder roster. For now, this Thunder team has a lot of work to do, but that won’t stop them from playing hard each and every night.

Brian Anderson is an NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrAnderson035 “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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