OKC Thunder Struggling to Put Together Complete Games Early in Season

While the Oklahoma City Thunder has a winning record, the team has had plenty of ups and downs in the young season.

The NBA season is full of ups and downs. That's what is unique about a full 82-game season. Still, putting together winning stretches is important for playoff teams. That's exactly what the Oklahoma City Thunder projects to be this season -- a playoff team. 

Early in the season, the Thunder is 5-4. A winning record early is a positive, given how many playoff teams often start slow. Still, the Thunder hasn't been able to fully play consistently. Playing to the team's identity for a full 48 minutes has been a struggle this season. 

A nine-game sample size is early, but the Thunder's most recent loss, dropping a 105-98 game to the shorthanded Sacramento Kings, was a good example of the Thunder struggling to put together a 48-minute game. 

The Thunder got down 34-20 through the first quarter. Something this team often saw last year was early big deficits. They won the second and third quarters, but it wasn't enough as they fell short in the matchup.

"I think the lesson tonight is game plan from the jump and offensive identity in the first half," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneult said after the loss. 

This is true not just when the Thunder get down early, but when they build big leads, too. When they played the New Orleans Pelicans a few games back, they built a 22-point lead early in the eventual loss.

Basketball is a game of runs, and even more so in the NBA where offenses are capable of scoring incredibly quickly, but even then, the Thunder has to learn how to play with leads and avoid going down too big too early in these matchups.

When the Thunder is playing inconsistently, they have no sense of their identity, something that allowed them to rally back into so many games last year. It'll help as the season moves along. As mentioned, a nine-game sample size is small, and the team is still adjusting to a new lineup and new rotations. 

There is plenty of basketball to be played, and if Daigneault has proven anything, he will figure out rotations that best work and this team will find its rhythm. It's a positive sign that the Thunder has a positive record, even if it is just 5-4, and now they've got to protect that winning record moving forward.

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