NBA
The Thunder Second Unit Has A Chance To Be Very Good
The Oklahoma City Thunder have made a couple big moves this offseason. The Thunder have had major issues the past couple of seasons. They may have solved their issues though with their moves the past couple weeks.
Obviously, the Thunder bringing Paul George back makes this a successful season. The other moves make them one of the top, if not the top threat to the Golden State Warriors.
The Two Key Additions
The Thunder trading for Dennis Schroeder and signing Nerlens Noel are absolutely huge. They could both be the best backups at their respective positions. They’ll be the leaders of the bench this season.
Raymond Felton was the backup point guard last season for the Thunder. They didn’t really have a backup center. Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson both played center at times. They aren’t bad, but having them as key contributors didn’t go well for the Thunder.
Schroder is going to be the best sixth man that the Thunder has had since James Harden. He is going to be a difference maker. His ability offensively is going to bode well for OKC’s second unit.
He averaged 19.4 points and 6.2 assists per game last season. He was the best player on a tanking Atlanta Hawks team. His three-point shooting percentage is concerning though. He shot 29% from deep last season. The Thunder need to have shooters alongside Schroder in the second unit for him to reach his potential.
Noel will give the second unit a defensive stopper. He isn’t a great offensive player, but he shouldn’t be asked to do much on that end anyway. Noel is coming off a career-worst season in Dallas.
He’s definitely going to want to show what he can do for the Thunder. He averaged just 4.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He averaged 1.6 blocks in his 171 games during a three-year stretch for the Philadelphia 76ers. If he could get up towards that number, that would be huge.
The Rest Of The Bench
The Thunder have the potential to have a solid second unit on the floor alongside Noel and Schroder. Guys like Raymond Felton, Alex Abrines, and Terrance Ferguson should spend some time in the backcourt. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is going to be expected to get some minutes as well.
That’s a really good backup guard unit to go with for the upcoming season. You can count on the veteran Felton to contribute whatever is needed. The young guys won’t be as consistent as Felton is expected to be.
Alex Abrines needs to be a consistent shooter for them too. They don’t have a lot of shooters, so he will play a big role off the bench for this team.
Terrance Ferguson is more of a question mark. It’s hard to tell what you can expect from him. He is still very young, but if he can be a solid role player, that would be huge. The opportunity is going to be there for him.
With Grant expected to take Carmelo Anthony’s starting spot, that leaves Patterson in the second unit alongside Noel. Patterson was inconsistent last year and was somewhat of a disappointment. If he can stay healthy and is able to hit some shots, that would be a huge plus.
What Does This Mean For OKC?
The Thunder having a good bench is huge. It will help them out in the playoffs, but it should have just as big of an impact in the regular season. They lost a lot of games to bad teams last season. They know having a good bench should orevenp that from happening again.
The Thunder’s starting lineup has played as good as almost any. It has been the bench that has haunted them. In the 2017 playoffs vs the Houston Rockets, they were playing right with them when Russell Westbrook was in the game. When he would go to the bench, the Rockets would quickly extend the lead and the game was pretty much over.
The bench has the potential to be one of the best in the league. That is going to be huge in a potential playoff series vs teams like the Warriors and Rockets. The Thunder have a legit bench. If these guys stay healthy they will be your biggest competition this season.
Credit: Chris Kern
