For years, the Thunder played through Russell Westbrook.
This season, things are going to look a little different. Oklahoma City showed glimpses of their offensive plan during Sunday’s Blue & White Scrimmage, running things through the high post and bigs Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel.
“It’s basically quarterbacking the gym,” said Noel after Monday’s practice. “Being that five-man, you’ve got a lot of responsibility to create and get guys open.”
Noel, like Adams, will look to take on a greater role this season following the departures of Westbrook and Paul George.
“It’s really an offense where guys can play off of each other and create open shots. I think as we continue to do that in this early part and get acclimated to each other, it’s going to be easier to run this offense. It’s definitely going to be tough for other teams as we continue to get better with this.”
Thunder reporters Nick Gallo and Paris Lawson pointed out in their post-practice report that “playing through the bigs really opens up the floor.” Lawson added “opening up the lanes really allows versatile guys on the wing to do their work”.
One such versatile guy on the wing, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 21 in the Blue & White Scrimmage.
Oklahoma City will travel to Tulsa to take on the Mavericks Tuesday night in their first preseason game.
