Assessing Oklahoma City's Team Defense Heading Into Training Camp
In this story:
Oklahoma City has endured plenty of losing over the past two seasons. On some nights, it was hard to find a positive or two. One consistent factor throughout the rebuild, though, has been the Thunder’s effort on the defensive end.
Because of injuries, and chasing lottery picks, the Thunder have had to trot out a variety of different, unusual lineups. No matter who’s on the floor, though, Oklahoma City always seems to get it done on the defensive end.
According to lineups.com, Oklahoma City ranked No. 15 in points allowed and No. 8 in team defensive rating. The Thunder had the fourth worst record in the NBA, making the positive stats on the defensive end even more impressive. Some nights, Oklahoma City’s defense kept them in games.
Part of that is, of course, due to Lu Dort. Oklahoma City has one of the best, and most aggressive, perimeter defenders in the NBA. The other part to that is culture. Oklahoma City has players taking pride on the defensive side of the ball.
The Thunder will still struggle to stop scoring in the paint. Chet Holmgren’s addition to this team would’ve been massive on the defensive end, so it’s unfortunate that fans will have to wait to see the finished product. Jalen Williams’ long wingspan will provide extra help in the rotation, too.
Both Tre Mann and Aleksej Pokusevski are two big names that got noticeably stronger over the offseason. That extra bulk will help defend drives to the basket. If those two players can add anything on that side of the floor, it would be a big win.
With a healthy Dort, and improvement all-around, the Thunder will have better defenders on the floor. The question now, is will the energy be as high? Oklahoma City could potentially have another top-half-of-the-league defense in 2022-23.
Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
