Why The NBA Should Be Terrified Of The OKC Thunder
the OKC Thunder are easily one of the biggest winners of free agency they didn’t sign or trade for any bigname players but they acquired some highquality role players that not only complement the developing young core on the team but helped to fix some of the Thunder’s weaknesses the playoffs are all about taking advantage of your opponent’s weaknesses and despite having a great 57 win regular season the Mavericks were able to exploit the Thunder weaknesses in the second round well in the off season s pressy did a great job at making some smart pickups to address these needs a big reason they lost to the Mavs was their inability to rebound the Thunder simply lacked size and Chad hren really struggled on the glass due to a lack of strength the Thunder fixed this issue by signing Isaiah hardenstein who was one of the better starting centers in the League last year the Thunder also lost that series because they got cold from Deep so Sam pry geniusly replaced one of the worst Shooters on the team in Josh giddy with a player in Alex Caruso who shot 41% from the outside last year the Thunder also brought back two key role players Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe on reasonable deals with the additions they made and the potential growth of their key young players this Thunder team could very easily win the championship next season first let’s look at how Isaiah hartenstein makes the Thunder better hartenstein has been a backup center for most of his career but last year he became a valuable starter for the Knicks after they lost Mitchell Robinson due to injury he was a monster on the glass for the Knicks last season even having two games where he managed to grab 20 rebounds he was one of the best defensive centers as well regularly blocking and altering the shots of driving players that challenged him not only does iHeart improve the Thunder rebounding but he’s also going to bring their defense which already ranked fourth in the NBA last season to an even higher level this also makes the Thunder incredibly versatile allowing them to match up with different styles of play in the playoffs they can opt to go small and play five out with Chad at the five or they can go big and move Chad to the four and start ihart at the five teams are going to have a really hard time scoring in the Pate against the Thunder when they have both iHeart and Chad on the floor at the same time not only does iHeart boost their defense and rebounding he’s also going to add to what OKC can do offensively iHeart is one of the best passing centers in the league having a great eye for finding players cutting back door he’s also very good in the two-man game and unlike most big men he isn’t just a catch and finish guy he could put the ball on the deck from the perimeter get all the way to the rim and finish and if he can’t get all the way to the rim he’s got a really nice push shot the pick and roll between sgaa and iHeart will be deadly next season so not only not only does iHeart help to address a big weakness on this Thunder team but he’s also going to help to diversify their offense another big move that thunder made was trading Josh giddy for Alex Caruso giddy is a good young player but he simply wasn’t a great fit with the Thunder young core going forward he also shot just 33% from Deep last year so his inability to shoot really hurt the Thunder spacing this is a big reason his minutes declines in the playoffs with Alex Caruso they get approv Ren veteran who’s an NBA champion with the 2020 Lakers Caruso’s hot shooting from Deep makes him a much better compliment to the Thunder then giddy he’s also one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and with Caruso in the lineup the Thunder defense is going to be absolutely suffocating between Caruso Cas Wallace and Lou Dort the Thunder have three lockdown Defenders to put on your team’s best player and even if they get by them Chen holgren and Isaiah hartenstein are waiting for them in the paint there’s a strong argument to be made that OKC should be the best defensive team in the league next season with these free agency signings the Thunder are really betting on their young Corp taking that next step they could have going the route of trading for a star but it looks like they’re going to wait for their young players to Blossom SGA is already there he’s established himself as a legit Superstar this season finishing right behind Nicola yic in MVP voting and not only did SGA have a great regular season for the first time we saw SGA dominate in the postseason averaging 30 points per game in the playoffs but for OKC to get to that next level Jaylen Williams and Chad holgren need to take a major step forward to Jaylen Williams credit he had a massive leap in his sophomore season becoming a great three-level scorer not only does he have the athleticism to be a great finisher when driving to the rim but last season he de developed the ability to shoot off the bounce at a high percentage Williams was also one of the NBA’s most devastating clutch performers leading the thunder in fourth quarter scoring he’s well on his way to NBA stardom but it’s worth mentioning that he underachieved in the Thunder second round exit to the Mavericks where his scoring and efficiency both dropped significantly in the series he averaged just 17 a game on 42% shooting in the series and in pivotal games like in game five he came up way short for OKC to take that next step not only must Jaylen Williams keep improving but he must deliver in the big moments in the playoffs let’s also talk about Chad after missing his rookie season with a foot injury Chad’s first year in the league was outstanding Not only was he one of the best defensive centers in the game but he brings an offensive skill set few other seven-footers have with the ability to shoot dribble and pass the ball well but while Chad is way ahead of schedule he needs to keep improving and in the Thunder’s second round defeat to the Mavericks he also came up way short his shooting from Deep got cold and he just simply isn’t a viable one-on-one scorer yet at this point of his career most of his baskets are assisted I would really like to see Chad develop a mid-range game if he was to hone in on his mid-range game he could become a deadly scorer because at 7′ one he should be able to just shoot over the top top of Defenders easily the perfect player for him to model his game after is christops porzingis two rounds after the Mavericks lost to the Thunder they got torched by KP in the finals at 7’3 KP is a dominant post player able to catch the entry pass raise up and shoot over smaller Defenders ched has a very similar frame to KP so if he gets in the lab and works on his game he could dominate in a similar way overall OKC had a slam dunk of an off season but for this team to go from regular season Juggernaut to NBA champions Jaylen and Chad need to become All-Star level players but now I want to hear from you guys what do you think of the moves OKC made this off season do you think they can win the title next season let me see your thoughts Down Below in the comment section guys I’m going to continue to talk about the thunder as well as other teams all offseason long so if that sounds like something like that would interest you consider hitting that subscribe button thank you so much for watching and have an amazing rest of your day [Music]
#oklahomacitythunder #okcthunder #okcthundernews #okcthunderhighlights #isaiahhartenstein #isaiahhartensteinthunder #alexcaruso #alexcarusothunder #shaigilgeousalexander #chetholmgren #jalenwilliams
The OKC Thunder are easily one of the biggest winners of free agency. They didn’t sign or trade for any big name players, but they acquired some high quality role players that not only compliment the developing young core on this team but help to fix some of the Thunder’s weaknesses. The Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein, who was one of the better starting centers in the league last year. They also traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso who shot 41% from the outside last year. The Thunder also brought back two key role players from last year, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe on reasonable deals. This video will explain why after the additions they made the OKC thunder could very easily win the championship next season.
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17 Comments
Can the OKC Thunder win the title next season?
Another reason I’m glad the Knicks are in the East! The NBA transition away from the Splash Brothers, KD, Lebron is nearly done! These giants of the last two decades are still around, but they aren’t able to have the same impact! Lebron appears to be focused on his legacy (Brony), while KD is trying to avoid regular first round exits! Klay’s selection of Dallas as his FA designation is barely a positive +- for Dallas as Klay will merely be sharing playoff hunting designee as a vulnerable veteran defender with Kyrie and Luka!
i like that hart is only 26, and the oldest player on the thunder is caruso at 30. still very young team and players who are going to be good for a while
What NBA team can compete with OKC during the 10 minutes their starters are off the floor?
chet should learn from durant and KP
Knicks vs. Thunder 2025 Finals would be the spiritual resurgence the championship series needs. All the headlines and star power would go CRAZY. It would definitely revitalize the atmosphere of the Finals and get it back to it's glory days. I feel like we're at ground zero of a whole new generation of legendary basketball.
chet gotta work on his ball handle
Great additions!!!
Captain Caruso
I Hardt adds toughness and offensive rebounding along with some nice passing.
Caruso is a defensive gem who also adds toughness and team chemistry, both are great additions.
The Thunder look great on paper and barring injuries, and they should make it to the finals.
I see the Mavs addition of Clay as a potential overpriced mistake and I like the toughness OKC just added with these two guys.
Thompson was lucky to even be in the league. And Dallas was a mediocre team that simply got hot for 2 weeks. They'll be back on earth soon enough. 🤣
Trading Giddey for Caruso was idiotic and makes no sense since Giddey's ceiling is infinitely higher and he's only 21 with many years to improve and they didn't need another wing player. OKC lost that trade. That being said I think Caruso will do ok but he's not as good as Wiggins. They're worse from that trade no question. The addition of Hartenstein is great and everything but let's remember Presti gave away Sengun and Lively, either of which would have been perfect for what they needed.
Thunder are going to the chip 🙅🏽
They finna break Golden States Record. Like a elite 3 wins 73 games, but how many could a elite 7 win?
When you're Dallas and your better, you're not terrified. But OKC does take out the trash pretty well, I've noticed, by watching scores most days.
Dub and Chet are currently so locked in to the gym that we can’t even imagine. They are about to both take their necessary leaps, I have no doubt.
These additions won't move the dial exponentially for the Thunder and I very, very much doubt they'll win a championship with their current roster. Everyone was moaning about the lack of a big and Giddey last season, but no one really mentioned the over-reliance on SGA, which will become apparent this season, methinks.