Limited Turnover Numbers Bright Sign for Young Thunder Roster
Turnovers are typically pointed to as a sign of a team's youth.
It’s widely accepted that typically the younger and more inexperienced the team the turnovers are higher — that’s not been the case in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City was near the bottom of the league in overall record and is bursting at the seams with youthful talent, however the team was able to limit turnover numbers last season, a bright sign for the future.
Turnovers kill momentum for the whole team and the individual player. Oklahoma City averaged 13.3 turnovers per game, with Josh Giddey being the only long term player with more than three (3.2). Georgios Kalaitzakis averaged over four but played in just four contests.
As would be expected the players who saw the most minutes had higher turnover margins, as Shai Gilgeous- Alexander, Lu Dort and Giddey were three of the most turned over players on the roster, but even they had impressive marks in limiting turnovers. Gilgeous- Alexander and Dort averaged 2.8 and 1.7 turnovers per game respectively.
Aaron Wiggins, who played more than 20 minutes per game in 50 appearances averaged just 1.1 turnovers per game.
The Thunder guards were able to hold onto the ball giving the offense more chance to score. The team shot 43% from the field and an abysmal 32.3% from 3-point range.
However, coming into the 2022-23 season of OKC can continue to limit turnovers, the addition of Chip Engelland as an assistant coach will take the shooting percentages to a new level.
Limiting turnovers not only gives teams more of a chance to be successful offensively, but it helps limit the opponent from getting added possessions in a game where each one matters more than the last.
With an influx of young talent on the roster with three lottery picks entering the fray, with one projected to see considerable minutes right away, the experienced players in the locker room have to limit turnovers even more and continue to add that as a focus of the team.
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