Oklahoma City Thunder
The 2019-20 Oklahoma City Thunder season can be defined by the fact that the Thunder wildly exceeded most everybody’s expectations.
What did we learn?
This team did have something to prove.
We tried to tell you that this was a sneaky good roster that was absolutely not going to roll over, even in a loaded as fuck Western Conference.
The Thunder began the season a drizzly 5-10, but they were roaring after Thanksgiving. OKC’s 34-13 record after Turkey Day until the season was postponed in March was the third-best record in the NBA over that span behind only the Bucks and Lakers.
Sam Presti kept The Point God and The Rooster in OKC, and they prospered. Chris Paul went vegan and was rejuvenated, playing with a renewed vigor. Chris Paul in the clutch? That’s winning time. 34-year-old CP3 led the entire NBA in clutch points scored. Per usual, @WorldWideWob perfectly stated: “CP3 is a walking breathing encyclopedia of situational gameplay. He just always knows.”
We felt as though Danilo Gallinari could have been an All-Star in the 2018-19 season for the overachieving Clippers, and Gallo continued his stellar play this year on the overachieving Thunder. The Rooster shot over 40 percent from three for a second consecutive season and on 7.1 attempts per game as OKC’s let-it-rip stretch-4.
This was a cohesive squad.
The Thunder really enjoyed playing together. Honestly, this seemed like one of the more genuinely happier teams in the league. Smiles were abundant.
The three-headed point guard lineup of CP3, SGA and Dennis Schroder was frivolous and radiant. Three ball handlers who can all create space, knock down shots and set each other up was a problem for opposing defenses. SGA is a Swiss army knife type who can do a little bit of everything. We knew playing under CP3’s guidance would benefit his career trajectory greatly. Dennis Schroder was the 6th Man of the Year in our book with four 30-point games and 33 games of 20+ points.
The Thunder did play kinda slow, 21st in the NBA in Pace. They also had quite the affinity for the mid-range, 3rd in the NBA in percentage of shots coming from mid. Sometimes we wondered, does Russell Westbrook’s ghost linger somewhere within? Well, OKC no longer played “Taking Care of Business” after wins at home — that was a letdown of epic proportions.
Leaving off Hami Diallo from our season preview as a notable power dunker was embarrassing. Diallo is a Slam Dunk champ! We did mention Terrence Ferguson as somebody who throws down some power dunks in transition, but we didn’t see too many from T-Ferg this season. But there were Diallo power dunks a plenty.
We learned who DORT is. We saw Lu Dort’s first ever points scored in the NBA. Everybody learned who Dort was in the bubble in the first-round series against Houston, the defensive wunderkind built to slow down Harden. Speaking of, we loved that Billy D went super small ball with Gallo at the 5 against the micro-ball Rockets. That lineup crushed it! We respect the hell out of this team and the fact that they took Houston to 7 games.
Although we are clueless about the decision to not bring back Billy D, this is probably just a franchise in a transitional phase.
The same questions from the beginning of 2019-20 remain:
Contend with a ready to fight crew or blow that shit up.
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What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?
Has there ever been a double Ewing Theory?
Here ya go, this was it!
Free from Westbrook at long last, will Billy Donovan be able to spread his coaching wings and fly?
Absolutely. We are still perplexed why he was let go? (But we love that he’ll be in Chicago eating deep dish with our baby Bulls!)
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Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
Sign us up for a world where the Thunder are last year’s Clippers, claw their way into the playoffs, and somehow face off against the Rockets in a Round 1 Melee.
Given draft pick implications, it would be smarter for OKC to suck, which means Presti likely plans to trade CP3, Gallo and maybe even Adams before the deadline.
Either way, we are hammering OVER 32.5 wins. (39.6% winning pct)
Thunder 2019-20 final record: (44-28) 61% winning pct
YES, our preseason Over/Under prediction hit! The Thunder eclipsed 32.5 wins in mid-February.
Also, we totally called the Thunder playing the Rockets in the first round!
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What’s Next?
Find a new head coach. Who is left out there? We have a feeling it will be a no-namer type, but we are still advocating for Kenny Atkinson.
Figure out the direction of the team’s future... Can Presti move CP3’s contract? Should they run it back? We sure wish they would.
If Gallo signs elsewhere and CP3 is dealt, there will be more reps for SGA, yet he seems more fit as a secondary guy for now.
Darius Bazley is somebody to keep an eye on.
Bring back “Taking Care of Business” after OKC wins at home!!!
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