3 Storylines for OKC’s Preseason Games

Oklahoma City begins its preseason schedule in less than a month, and with its arrival comes many storylines to follow.

It’s now less than a month before Oklahoma City plays a basketball game as a full team since the end of the 2021-22 regular season.

The Thunder are slated to kick off the 2022-23 preseason on Oct. 3 against Denver.

The preseason brings the regular season one step closer, and also presents plenty of storylines around the team.

Here are three of those storylines to monitor. 

The rookies enter the fray.

Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA TODAY Sports

The game will mark the first time the Thunder rookies, minus Chet Holmgren, will play an NBA game alongside the full roster including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

The group played games in the Summer League with Josh Giddey, but it will be the first time seeing Jalen Williams and Ousmane Dieng on the team with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and the other experienced players.

The injury to Chet Holmgren’s magnitude and his addiction won’t fully be known until next season when he enters the fray next year, but the preseason will give a good sense of the development of the rookies since Summer League. 

A preview of the rotation.

Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today

The biggest storyline of the off-season for OKC has been how the minutes will be divided up.

The preseason games bring a small glimpse of what could be seen come the regular season. While the games against overseas teams may not see the prominent pieces play a significant role in the game the games against NBA teams can provide a realm of possibilities for the minutes some players will see off the bench come the regular season.

This will also help show the cohesiveness of the different units that have been built through training camp and the rest of the off-season.

Minutes won’t be a completely accurate look into how the regular season will play out, but it will provide a helpful look inside the brain of the coaching staff. 

How will OKC handle filling in center and power forward depth?

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Along with seeing how minutes are divided amongst the whole roster. The preseason will give the Thunder staff and fans a look on the possibilities of how OKC will handle the Holmgren injury.

The Thunder have mostly the same players at the two big positions as last season minus Isiah Roby and with the addition of Jaylen Williams.

The Thunder will have to play with a small lineup with few true centers on the roster. Along with seeing who plays each role, the preseason provides a great matchup to test the Thunder’s ability to defend the paint with a small lineup.

The Thunder roster is stuffed with players fighting for minutes, but does that mean they know the answer for the center problem? 

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