The wait is almost over but we can officially say that Thunder basketball is back!
The Thunder and Jazz are the teams that caused the NBA to shut down for these last 4.5 months due to Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19 moments before tipoff. It is kind of poetic that the Thunder will open play back up with them.
Since the guys have had 4.5 months off it’s like this is the start of a new season so we don’t know what to really expect from anyone. They played 3 scrimmage games where they went 3-0 so that gave us a little look of what they could bring to the table.
Head coach Billy Donovan continuously spoke on how this team has been together the whole year and how every successful team needs that quality. It showed on the court in their scrimmages. They played like they didn’t miss a beat.
Most notably the game against the Sixers. They got down by 24 and just like the regular season they never gave up and stayed together to come back and win by 5. The one major aspect about this year’s Thunder team is how they never give up no matter the score of the game.
We’ve seen it time and time this year and that seems like that will definitely continue in the NBA bubble.
The biggest Thunder story from the bubble has ben the return of Andre Roberson. He hasn’t played an official NBA game since January 2018 and is set to play real minutes for the first time since then. For someone who hadn’t played in 2.5 years he looked good. There was obvious rust and he was going through so many emotions but once those shoot off he was good and even looks improved.
It was only scrimmages but his 3 point shot looks much better. He even hit two clutch 3s in their comeback win against the Sixers. Having him back in the lineup greatly improves their depth and since he can play the PF it allows them to go small and utilize the 3 point guard lineup a lot more.
Having Roberson back becomes a lot more essential since 1 of those 3 point guards will miss some time. Dennis Schroeder will be leaving the bubble to be with his wife who will be giving birth to their new child. There isn’t an exact date of when he will leave or how long he will be gone but my guess would be he misses 1-4 games.
Those games he misses become extremely important because the Thunder can end up anywhere from the 2nd seed to the 7th seed. With no home court, matchups will be the most important thing and being the 7th seed playing the Clippers in the first round is not ideal.
With all that being said, here’s what to expect from the team in the bubble. We’re going to see a team that plays hard every night and will see SGA show why he will be the face of this franchise for years to come. Andre Roberson already has enough motivation to play well but he will be a free agent after this year so he’s one guy to keep an eye on. As well is Lu Dort. He recently signed a 4 year deal with the team and wants to show off why he was worthy of that deal.
Dort was on a two-way deal and only got a chance to showcase his talents because of injuries to so many guys on the team. He was inserted into the starting lineup and wants to keep that spot. He’s key to this teams success.
It would seem somewhat disrespectful to talk about the Thunder and not mention their leader, Chris Paul. He was integral in the NBA coming back as he’s the President of the NBPA. The focus he’s had to keep has been nothing short of impressive and I fully expect him to lead the Thunder out of the first round for the first time since 2016.
The only teams that would beat them in the first round are the Lakers, Clippers, and possibly the Rockets. There’s no way they’d play the Lakers, so that leaves the Clippers and Rockets. They can avoid the Clippers by playing the same way they have been all season. Rockets are the team that is most likely out of the 3 the can beat them but that to me is a pick em series.
My prediction for them in the 8 seeding games is 5-3.
Get ready because it’s almost time to Thunder Up!
Flip the page to see video and highlights from their scrimmages.