Despite Early Season Success, OKC Thunder Will Still Be Aggressive

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, and despite their success, they will not stop being aggressive in an attempt to find the best version of themselves.
Despite Early Season Success, OKC Thunder Will Still Be Aggressive
Despite Early Season Success, OKC Thunder Will Still Be Aggressive /
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The Oklahoma City Thunder (38-17) are off to a fast start this season, and quickly, they are proving to be more and more legitimate. Though, that does not change what the Thunder are about day in and day out. 

"Not allowing the fact we have a good record in the first part of the season or the fact that we have had some early get in the way of continuing to have a very aggressive exploratory mindset with the team," Mark Daigneault said following the Thunder's impressive win over the L.A. Clippers on Thursday. "With lineups, with tactics, we have to keep pushing to get better and stretching ourselves. That starts with me. I am going to continue to be aggressive about finding what is best for our team. There is going to be failure along the way in doing that, but that is the only way to uncover the best version of your team." 

In an impressive win over the Clippers, the Thunder started Isaiah Joe out of intermission, moving Josh Giddey to the bench, a common tactic since Daigneault has taken over. 

That change worked, this game was a back-and-forth affair until the Joe lineup flipped the outcome allowing the Thunder to run away with this contest. The Arkansas product was a plus-nine in this tilt. 

Exploring the roster is a smart decision, collecting data points on what works against certain matchups, and putting that information in your back pocket for the postseason. 

Roster exploration has been a staple for Daigneault since taking the job in 2020, and that is not going to change despite the expectations, and record, doing a 180.


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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network.