Three OKC Thunder Storylines to Follow in Season Opener

Oklahoma City returns to action after a long offseason across the NBA. For Thunder fans, though, the break was shorter than usual as the team was playing through June. Nonetheless, the team and the community should be fired up as the franchise looks to go back-to-back for the first time in program history.

Oklahoma City’s roster doesn’t really have any question marks, and the organization itself has even fewer. This Thunder team is the epitome of consistency from top to bottom, and has proven it year in and year out. Of course, last season was the pinnacle, finally hoisting the Larry O’Brien. After signing its big three to huge extensions, and retaining over 99% of the team’s production, there’s not much to question here on the roster in terms of the season ahead.

However, there are a few questions to be asked on opening night. The Thunder comes into Tuesday night’s opening matchup oddly banged up, missing Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, and Kenrich Williams from the rotation. Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber are both out too, although it’s unknown how much they’d play right off the bat even if they were healthy. The team’s opponent appears to be pretty good — the revamped Rockets led by Kevin Durant.

There’s mystery and intrigue all around in the Thunder’s first matchup of the season, and questions to be answered. Here are three Thunder specific storylines to follow during the team’s first game:

Who steps up in Jalen Williams’ absence?

Oklahoma City will be without its All-Star wing on Tuesday night, which is a serious bummer. Longterm, there’s no doubt he’ll be fine and make a full recovery, and he’ll likely return in the next few weeks. But the Thunder will certainly be conservative in their approach to his return to play — his health is a huge priority.

For the first few weeks, it gives the rest of the roster an opportunity to step up. One under-the-radar player that comes to mind is Ajay Mitchell, who will need to handle the rock without Williams. J-Dub is a terrific isolation player, and Oklahoma City will miss his offense no doubt. When the ball movement is stale, who can go get a bucket or beat someone off the dribble? Perhaps it’s Mitchell.

How does Oklahoma City perform in the non-Shai minutes?

The Thunder finally figured out how to survive the non-Shai minutes a season ago, as the team became one of the NBA’s all-time best. It was led by defense, but the offense figured out how to make it work without Gilgeous-Alexander off the court. And yes, it’s certainly a luxury to be able to stagger his minutes with someone like Williams.

Offensively, Aaron Wiggins will have to pick up the slack and find a way to score when Gilgeous-Alexander heads to the bench. Until Williams is back, he might be the team’s second best pure scorer. Chet Holmgren will have a chance to showcase his offensive improvement — specifically on-ball. Oklahoma City will also still rely on its defense, so points off turnovers will be huge when SGA is on the bench.

Who emerges as another ball-handler?

Even with Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams in the lineup together, the Thunder still needed another ball handler for extra relief to take some of the pressure off of its stars. That could be Topic when he returns, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The obvious answer is Mitchell, who looked like the perfect backup point guard all summer long and during the preseason slate. He could be an important piece to unlocking the Thunder’s offense. Wiggins has shown progress in the ball handling department, too.

Another option is Cason Wallace, who played point guard in college and was a rock solid distributor. He was a true offense initiator, and has transitioned to more of a 3-and-D role with the Thunder. All offseason, Oklahoma City talked about his improvement and how he could take a big step offensively. Now is the time to show it.