What to Watch For in OKC Thunder Preseason Opener vs. Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder begin their five game NBA Preseason journey on Tuesday in Tulsa, Ok. against the New Orleans Pelicans. This is the front end of a back-to-back set which sees Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso in street clothes tonight. The Thunder will also be without Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber as the young duo has been limited in training camp.

On Wednesday, the team will take on the Bucks in the Paycom Center and likely get back Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Wallace, Holmgren, Hartensteein and Caruso.

Here is what to watch for in this contest against New Orleans.

OKC Thunder, Aday Mara — Sep 28, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Aday Mara (15) poses for a photo during Oklahoma City Thunder Media Day at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What to Watch For vs. Pelicans in NBA Preseason Opener

1) Jared McCain Leading the Offense

The Oklahoma City Thunder are without most of their ball handlers in this matchup. This could give McCain chances to lead the offense, as he displayed an interesting mid-range game in his time with the Thunder at the end of last year, and there are hopes of the third-year guard improving his rim-finishing numbers this season. This could be the first step in showing off those improvements while still being able to play off Ajay Mitchell to get some off-the-ball 3-point shooting.

2) Aday Mara's Improvement

Mara had an up-and-down Summer League as he continues to get bettter and improve his conditioning. Tonight, he will be one of the lone bigs available to Mark Daigneault's crew. Seeing how the team utilizes the No. 12 overall pick from the 2026 NBA Draft will be of great interest in this game. His screen-setting ability and playmaking will be vital to the team's offense while he tries to show off his high-end rim protection defensively.

3) Bennet Stirtz Role

The plan for Stirtz at the NBA level is to play off the ball. While that wasn't his task in College, needing to play 40 minutes a night mainly on the ball to lead the offense at that level. In Summer League, with the team down ball handlers, Stirtz had to continue in an on-ball role and when he was asked to play away from the rock, he was paired with Brooks Barnhizer exploring his on-ball skillset. Tonight, the Thunder should be able to get the rookie some run next to Mitchell and/or McCain and truly explore the situation he will be put in during the regular season. His 3-point shooting off the catch will be something to monitor all year.

4) Otega Oweh Getting Some Run

Oweh saw his NBA Summer League cut short after sustaining an ankle injury in Salt Lake City. The Thunder second round pick getting to be back on the hardwood will be fun to see as his defensive remains his calling card, Oweh can also get out and run in transition while everyone awaits to see if his 3-point shot will come around. Oweh currently sits on a two-way spot with the team with many believing he could be next in line to follow the two-way to standard roster spot pipeline.

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