Vital Analysis: Three Takeaways from Oklahoma City Thunder’s Exciting Game Against Denver

The Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from their Thursday night loss against the Kings on Saturday evening, taking down the defending champion Denver Nuggets 118-117 on the road.

OKC’s victory continues an impressive early season run for the Thunder, improving the team’s record to 16-8 and helping Mark Daigneault’s team maintain second place in the Western Conference standings.

With a tumultuous schedule coming up that includes games against the Clippers, Lakers, Timberwolves, Knicks and Nuggets again, Oklahoma City’s victory over Denver last night becomes even more crucial. Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s thrilling victory.

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS NEED TO BE ADJUSTED

Heading into the season, OKC’s win total on the betting market was set at 46 games. Amongst Thunder and even national media, the team’s win total was a big topic of conversation. After winning 40 games last season with a young team who was only expected to win around 24 games heading into the year, Thunder fans were eager to believe that their squad could once again overachieve.

Many Oklahoma City media members sought to temper expectations, saying that winning six to seven more games in 2023-24 would be a tall task. So far, however, the Thunder have once again surpassed expectations. While nearly everyone expected OKC to be a solid, competitive team, many observers said that adding a few more wins to last year’s total and earning the No. 7 seed in the Play-In Tournament would be considered a good season in the Modern Frontier.

After the Thunder showed last night that they are able to hang in and knock off some of the best teams in the NBA, it is finally time to admit that Oklahoma City should no longer be satisfied with a Play-In bid.

With wins over the Warriors, Lakers and now Nuggets this season, the Thunder have shown that they are a competitor in the West and should be competing for one of the top six seeds at the end of the year despite being such a young team.

OKC’S “BIG 3” CONTINUES TO SET THEMSELVES APART

Oklahoma City fans have been talking about their “young core” for a few seasons, constantly debating what players belong in that classification.

While Sam Presti has certainly assembled a very talented young team filled with fun, intriguing players who are proving to be difference makers in the NBA, the Thunder’s best three players have set themselves apart this season and continued to do so on Saturday.

As has been the case many times this year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren led the way for OKC against the Nuggets on Saturday.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, Williams notched 24 points, three assists and one steal of his own while Holmgren tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds and a whopping nine blocks against Denver.

Throughout the season, the three aforementioned players have been the main catalysts for the Thunder’s success.

While SGA, Williams and Holmgren are certainly surrounded by an incredible group of role players and a few other young prospects who still have plenty of potential, it seems clear at this point that the the three are the team’s clear leaders and should be the franchise cornerstones in the new era of Oklahoma City basketball.

THE THUNDER BENCH CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE

All season, OKC’s bench has had a big impact on the team’s performance. Whether Davis Bertans is entering the game to nail shots from beyond the arc or Cason Wallace is playing solid defense on one of the best players in the league, Daigneault and Presti have done a great job of building out a competitive bench unit.

Manned regularly by players like Kenrich Williams, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder’s bench has a variety of players with differing skill sets who all have made good contributions to the team’s winning efforts this season.

While not every one of these players is putting up big numbers every game, the entire bench unit has a specific role that they fit into well and seemingly have no problem playing.

Aside from the aforementioned bench players, Bertans, Tre Mann and Ousmane Dieng have also had solid outings this season and are suitable options for Daigneault to turn to in case of injury or any other circumstance.

With a good starting five and great depth behind them, the Thunder should be able to compete well in a playoff series at the end of the season.