Why You Should Be Excited About the Oklahoma City Thunder | The Ryen Russillo Podcast

Why You Should Be Excited About the Oklahoma City Thunder | The Ryen Russillo Podcast

Starting with the NBA today and starting with the headline which is very obvious and that’s the Thunder win against the Celtics at home 12723 one of the best regular season games a lot of anticipation finals preview who knows uh I want to get to all of that kind of

Stuff you know it’s funny is I was watching the game I go you know I think the Thunder topic is what I want to open with even if they had lost a close one now if they gotten blown out the timing of this wouldn’t be right there’s an

Aside too of all of this where I think how different we would talk about the NBA if there were just one game a week because I still think the way the NFL is discussed week to week where you just have these results and they have to mean

Something because you have six days in between the next game where with this many NBA games even though I know no one likes the long schedule it there’s enough games to kind of get lost so you don’t really feel like you have to have every result mean

Something so even if the Thunder had lost I probably was going to do a big positive Oklahoma City Thunder segment here today and they were in control of this game I know it got close there late and it was a really nice win uh to go

Along with a bunch of wins they’ve had here recently so let’s spend some time on Oklahoma City they’re one game behind Minnesota in the west uh they beat Denver this week that was 11993 they held yic to 10 field goal attempts and zero free throw attempts in that game um

They beat Minnesota earlier 129 106 they shot 61% had 10 less turnovers in Minnesota uh SGA had 40 against Denver 34 against Minnesota and last night he has 36 against Boston so if you look at last night’s game the reason Boston was able to kind of stay in it because

Oklahoma City was just lighting it up immediately they had 17 offensive rebounds um and Oklahoma City actually took 12 less free throws because there are some Thunder games where I’ll look at the result like okay wait was Shay cooking at the free throw line here

Again where I do feel like in this I feel like there’s a spike and free throws for the high usage guys which could be its own math explanation of yeah sure higher usage I need to dig into some of this stuff with this free throw debate that’s been going on for a

Couple weeks here because I know what I see and I still feel like offensive players initiating contact or being rewarded at a level that’s just bad for the game but that’s that’s another thing I need to spend more time on because I know there’s some math that that could

Dispute it but with SGA whenever I watch him get to like a free throw barrage night I feel like a lot of them are more warranted hey an up fake and the guy gets up off the ground and you you you up fake the jump shot and then lean into

Him you know that one I’m okay with that’s that’s the one that I’m like dudes have been doing that forever you know guys are doing that in the backyard right now so I don’t have an issue I feel like with sga’s big free throw nights as I do with some other players

In the league um the first thing I was looking for were defensive matchups I mean it’s the first thing I look at is there anything in there and specific to what Boston wanted to do is they wanted to put porzingis on giddy for a good chunk of this game it’s how they started

To allow porzingis to roam off of Giddy and that completely backfired uh giddy hit two threes in the first quarter he was I don’t know if this term I don’t know if I like it or don’t like it but I’ve heard it so I’ll just use it

Because I think it makes sense it showed a maturity level with the Thunder there was a few plays in there we like okay wait if the game plan is to ignore giddy then giddy needs to be more shot ready right like don’t dick around with a basketball here know that you’re going

To have a lot of space and I thought porzingis was laid on a bunch of closeouts too but it was Al asking him to do a lot to help on drives because Oklahoma City just feels like it’s this constant it’s this succession of curling drives of players with the ball in their

Hands getting angles you know decent sized guys if not big on the perimeter getting in getting physical you saw Shay bump Derek white off of them you saw Lou Dort on some of these drives they had to change the defensive assignment a couple times with Shay and it didn’t really

Matter uh he’s just that good he gets wherever he needs to get on the floor he’s very crafty he’s fast when he needs to be fast he’s slow when he needs to be slow you know sometimes he looks like he’s really slow out there but it’s he’s

Standing two three feet away from the rim you’re in front of him and you’re actually helpless because he’s going to get the angle he’s going to give you the little fake he’s a below the rim player that’s like Unstoppable when he’s in close so when I’m watching this defensive deal

Giddy starts firing from outside now when he came into the league uh he was 26% from three to then 33% last year 37% this year uh his numbers are down across the board because he’s actually playing less minutes as his team gets deeper and deeper 31 minutes per game last year 25

This year but there was a play that I think spoke to how just connected this Thunder team is uh late in the first quarter it’s 2219 kenri Williams drives he knows based on you know playing out the first quarter that if porzingis is aligned off of giddy then he’s probably

Helping to my drive kenrich knows it he throws a ball back out to gidy at the three-point line the ball the pass is essentially back behind him like over his head but it was all because of his understanding and this can sound really simple hey man they’ve played it out for

10 minutes like this he should be aware of it hey man I see plenty of teams or players that never figure this stuff out and once they knew the defensive rules for porzingis and with Giddy and what they were going to try do kenri is like

Yeah sure I’ll just drive I’m going to take you left I get closed off I’m just going to throw it back out to Giddy he’s wide open dribbles in Baseline Runner another bucket for him I loved that play okay loved it because it showed that kenri was thinking about another option

As opposed to well I have the ball in my hands and I’m in the paint so I guess I just have to shoot it um prey when you ask about Sam pry the man who’s in charge of this roster uh because if you ask him not going to tell you anything

Trust me we’ve tried to get him on the show a couple times I appreciate the annual tribe call Quest uh text that I usually send him once a year or something and um that’s about it but look I really like him he’s been super

Nice to me but he is not one that is going to share and good for him right but he whenever I ask other teams I’m like what do you think he’s doing what do you think he’s doing the constant and this has played out with the construction of this roster the constant

That you hear from other teams is that pry wants and i’ I’ve shared this before but I’m going to hammer this point at now because it played out this way they want multiple decision makers like they want a bunch of players out there who can

Have the ball in their hands who can hit a shot who can dribble Drive who can pass can move can reset on the perimeter if they’re bigger even better right because that’s also what he’s done but when you watch them play and you run through the roster you’re like okay

These guys are all multiple skill set players SGA is that giddy is certainly that with his playmaking and the improved shooting uh Jaylen Williams Jay dub incredible scorer you know they went with SGA a bunch of times and then to close the game they went with jdub twice

Where they actually worked him into a Tatum switch and he got Tatum on a step back because they’re that comfortable with his scoring ability and that decision-making in that kind of game now granted it’s not game seven but that was a big game last night and they’re like

We’re cool let’s let’s actually run something different here a different action and get the ball out of sga’s hand we’ll run a switch and you’re going to be in control of this possession for two two attempts in a row that’s that’s incredible stuff for a player that’s

That young uh Dort has a little bit to him and Beyond the defense but if he has the ball in his hands I don’t know that you’re like look you’re not going to ISO him all night but he’s not helpless like some of these other three andd players

Chat is multiple all right Chad allows you to do different things and on top of everything else he’s going to draw your other big away because you have to respect him so much as a shooter and the ball handling look I know there’s a bit

Of a Chet wemi thing going on here like wanyama is still based on projections the guy you take 10 out of 10 times but Chad as of today looks much better getting into his offense than when minyama does he just does he also has a way easier job because the team around

Him is really good and it’s actually like there’s a plan there where San Antonio’s you know just not as good obviously look at the standings not breaking news Cas Wallace another one of these guys can do a bunch of different things meic he brings the ball up for

Him I’ve seen him in games this season where he’s running The Possession um Usman J my guy the reason they took him is because he’s like 6 and learned how to play a pick and role in the Australian League last year so this is who they are this is what other teams

Knew they were like hey why are they D again it wasn’t like they predicted all this stuff but they’re like it seems like like this is what pry wants to do and it’s exactly what has happened and when you watch them close games you’re like these guys are all pretty smart and

They’re all a threat in not just individual ways but multiple ways so let’s look at some stats they’re fifth on offense right now in the league they’re third on defense they are a little lower in the total passing numbers You know despite how much I’ve talked about their passing

Their total passes per game you track that kind of stuff look Dallas Clippers are always at the bottom um Oklahoma City is kind of like middle of the pack but a lot of that’s because SGA is just so good running this isolation stuff you start looking at the drive numbers for

SGA you’re like my God this guy just like you almost with Tatum be like hey do you see what happens when you just keep driving the entire time because Tatum’s Drive numbers are actually really good they’re just low um if you look at some of the other field goal

Percentage stuff they’re third in field goal percentage they’re number one from three in the league right now they’re number one from the free throw line uh right now one thing I really liked cuz I started looking at some of the shot chart stuff the restricted area they

Actually aren’t as high in attempts as you might think with SGA but that’s because their mid-range stuff is really good if you go from 10 to 14 feet they are fourth in attempts per game from that area of the floor 8.8 Atlanta’s number one at nine so basically Oklahoma

City is right there with them but here’s the outlier Miami who um has I think they and Atlanta have the most attempts in that 10 to 14 foot range on the floor Miami’s converting 43.6% of those shots Oklahoma City’s converting 53% that’s the best number in the league from that area that nobody’s

Supposed to shoot from but as we’ve learned in the past kind of like with that Devon Booker Chris Paul Phoenix Suns team where you go well yeah but if your guys are really good at making those shots it’s okay especially because they’re open all the time and Oklahoma

City is better than anybody else in that range the only other team that’s over 50% from that range is Milwaukee and there’s a hand maybe half the league is like in the 30s from there like incapable of making that shot if they’re even attempting it so they defend they

Shoot it and they have a closer an SGA last night for a good reason this is the stuff I think that’s fun and we keep coming back to it it starts to turn into a bit of an SGA Tatum thing uh if you didn’t know and you needed this reminder

They’re both still 25 years old which was like wait Tatum’s still like what he’s 26 in March sgaa is 26 in July so only a few months of Separation look Tatum and has had the better career so if you feel like Tatum is still held in

Higher regard than sgaa is um and maybe he is I don’t know that’s going to happen after this year and I’m going to share a couple numbers with you that maybe puts that one to bed but Tatum look he’s had the better career he’s had the bigger playoff moments you know

Losing in the finals and losing against Miami to me those are not like devasta these other guys can’t even get it out of the second round at least he’s doing that I know it’s not perfect I know the Celtics offense late is always something we’re going to be a little worried about

I’ve done a deep dive on that trying to find the numbers that show us anything um some misleading numbers in there but he’s had way more playoff success sj’s had 13 playoff games to his career however if you want to say today that SGA is the better player I’m not going

To tell you you’re wrong and the analytics would back you up in a big way these numbers are pretty like surprising I I didn’t know it was this much separation you go to the last two years I know PR isn’t perfect wind Shar is 48

But look wind shear is 48 that tells you if you’re a stud all right there’s no flukes in the win sh wind shares for 48 if you’re playing a lot like the number one guy in the league is embiid number two is SGA number three is joic number

Four is Giannis number five is halberton all right so right now if you look at win shares per 48 the last two years Tatum was at 85 SGA last year is. 226 this year Tatum is actually down a bit from last year at .1 163 sgaa is at

310 I know that number may not not mean a lot to many of you listening but what I’m telling you what I’m promising you have a three at the beginning of that that is like all time stuff okay and that also speaks to how absurd embiid stats are that he’s actually ahead of

SGA at this point so the metrics the pr 24 and 21 for Tatum the last two years 27 and 31 for sgaa the last two years so these last two years we’ve seen a massive uh gilis Alexander jump on what kind of player he is and you know when I

Say it out loud and I listen to whole thing the playoff success thing is real I can see people still fighting for the metrics are telling any any tatm backer right now you’re you’re not even close and you’re getting hammered this year in comparing those two players uh and and

Again these are not I know people kind of oh these all made up these aren’t madeup numbers I mean somebody made them up but if you’re tell like I’m not telling you Josh Hart 6th shout out to maybe one of the best social media guys

Going to the game so now what they are the second youngest team in the NBA 24 years that’s the average age of this Thunder roster only San Antonio is younger in the NBA this season these teams do not historically win NBA titles all right let’s do some

History the youngest team to win a title the Portland Trailblazers 1977 average age 24 years old same as the Thunder hey man okay but that was 46 years ago guys 47 years ago so uh it wasn’t recent it wasn’t recent so what’s the next youngest team do you

Remember the 55 56 Philadelphia Warriors because I don’t are there any recent teams that were young that want a title well I have one for you it’s the 145 Warriors average age 26 years old for that roster so that’s pretty good there’s something there right cuz normally a young team

Like this Thunder team where it is certainly new is as good as they look and all those numbers I’ve just shared with you and a real guy a real number one but again you can’t truly be like a real number one unless I see you have like some threats in the playoffs I’m

Not saying you have to get to the Conference finals every single year but I think you understand what I’m saying um at least they have that but the recent history of all this stuff like if you go the 10 youngest teams that have won titles four were in the 1970s five

Were in the 1950s and then you have the 20145 Warriors but I think it’s more about when you look at the Thunder it would be a little dismissive to go up they’re young whatever they can’t win it because really I think it’s about the West in the west this year is there

Anyone that you’re that scared of you have to pay respect to Denver and I know you know with Gordon out for a little while Murray was gone for a bit um I I could see them look I think it’s human nature a little bit after that title to

Cruise a bit well we know now whatever playoff issues we were worried about with Denver’s defense maybe some of that stuff it wasn’t it was wasn’t enough to derail them and then they rolled towards the end I mean they were clearly the best team in the NBA last year so I

Think he always have to kind of put that one but is it insurmountable be a big ask for a team with no playoff real seasoning to go up against Denver and beat them uh it also depends on kind of how the the seating plays out and whether or not they be

Getting four on the road in Denver um then the rest of the West I know Minnesota’s ahead of them as we mentioned at the top uh Minnesota’s late offense is starting to really worry me it is and that’s a huge worry to have going what will that offense that looks

Like it’s struggling and trying to find its identity late in regular season games what would that look like in the playoffs who knows maybe it gets kind of fixed the rest of the teams the Lakers you want to buy stock in them right now I know it was a brutal December schedule

With some of the stuff they had to go through um and sometimes the story is told like in the month right and how that’s playing out because I I want to go back and look this up I don’t know if it’s Oklahoma city that has this brutal

January um cuz you know like the Philadelphia 76ers had a really like easy schedule there for a bit it felt like man are they playing Charlotte and Detroit again this week um anyway the point is I don’t know that it’s about the age as much as you go who are you

Afraid of to start of 24 that much in the west and I don’t think there’s a perfect answer for it but it’s still early enough to know that it’s probably going to change I think the last thing that I’d ask on this is that we know about the trades

That they’ve made and the stock pile of draft picks if you look at Sam Quinn’s piece on cbs.com who did a really good job of explaining this before the season started just laying it all out Oklahoma City from this point on to 2030 has 15 first round draft picks and 22 second

Round picks but only nine of those 15 first rounders are guaranteed to be be first rounders as of today five can become second rounders the Utah pick could expire by 26 if it doesn’t convey and I think the question to finish here would be this do we need to think about the

Thunder assets differently because they’re this good right now because whenever you talk about them oh well they can trade for anybody and you’re like yeah but prey’s smart he’s not going to just trade for a guy knowing he’s moving all these picks he’s not going to pay the three good for

Round price for the next mad Allstar knowing that the next mad Allstar is never picking Oklahoma City to be his top destination now we can sit here and pretending like man they’re really good why wouldn’t an All-Star want to go there look I’d still be shocked there’d be nothing funnier than if Durant

Demanded a trade back there Phoenix gets bounced early but that’s just an aside I think there’s probably even some le Lebron jokes out there uh if Oklahoma City were going some kind of run but the the reality the non-meme evaluation of this the reality could be all right so I

Don’t think prey would just give up a ton of picks or somebody he can’t sign but did he know that they would be this good could we look at the Thunder going all right whatever we’ll pay the price because we have a chance to win a championship this year which is the

Entire point of doing the job where we have such a surplus that I can pay the higher price knowing I’m probably not retaining this guy but that we add a dude that makes them the clear clear favorite in the west cuz they might be it right now it’s just too early for me

To completely sign off and say it’s Oklahoma City and everybody else but they could look different and even better because of the way they’re Positioned

Russillo discusses the Oklahoma City Thunder’s victory over the Boston Celtics in one of the highlight regular-season matchups of the year so far, why the Thunder are so effective on offense this year and how they displayed it against Boston, whether it’s fair to argue SGA over Jayson Tatum at this point, and whether or not the Thunder can outlast the other teams in the West down the playoff stretch.

Check out the Bill Simmons YouTube channel: youtube.com/billsimmons

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