Three Takeaways From the Oklahoma City Thunder's Sweep of Cleveland Cavaliers

Winning both games against the Cleveland Cavaliers within the first 10 contests of the season certainly made a statement for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are three takeaways from a game that followed trends very well to this point.

Coming off of a rallying win over the Atlanta Hawks just a game prior, the Oklahoma City Thunder had its work cut out for it when it took center court at Paycom Center Wednesday night. 

It sat one game over .500 and wanted to add to that cushion rather than fall back to the neutral mark, so it tipped off the game and made sure to get things going early against the Cleveland Cavaliers. By the end of the 48 minutes, its efforts paid off. Oklahoma City had notched another home victory, and headed into its two-game road trip preparation victorious. 

There were multiple factors that went into the victory, however, so following Wednesday night's home victory, here are three takeaways:

Nov 8, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) shoots in front of Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang (20) during the second half at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City won 128-120.  / © Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

1) Cason, Cason, Cason

For a team featuring the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and debuting Chet Holmgren, the last name the Thunder expected to be talking about so heavily was another rookie. 

Cason Wallace — Oklahoma City's lottery pick this season — is that name. No, he isn't 7-feet tall and no, he isn't the next $400 million superstar, but he's playing exceptionally well on the court, and it's showing. 

Through eight games, Wallace is averaging 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and nearly one stock (steal + block) per game — the latter of which making his game stand out from other rookies. Wallace hasn't taken over games, but he doesn't need to. He's doing something arguably more important by finding a role and playing it well, which for a rookie, is a great thing. 

Wallace had a career high in points against the Cavaliers Wednesday night, and proved once again why his impact will certainly be felt this season on both ends of the floor.

2) OKC's Free Throws Are, Well, Free

One of the least talked about aspects of a team's well-roundedness is free throw line performance. 

While a majority of the time the intangible stat is measured with numbers alone, being able to both get to the line and convert from the line is a figure seldom mentioned. 

And the Thunder is doing both.

Over the last two games, Oklahoma City shot 50-53 from the charity stripe, which is an impressive enough statistic over really any amount of games this early in the season, let alone just two. The Thunder made sure to both get to the line and convert as well, which makes fouling it extremely dangerous.

Both the Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers were first-hand witnesses of that. In fact, had it not been for the free throws, the Thunder wouldn't have come close to pulling off back-to-back victories, but it did. And by the way things are trending, it'll continue to put itself in winnable situations by means of the free throw line — the easiest points to score.

3) Games Are Won Behind the Arc 

If making free throws puts your team into winnable situations down the stretch, knocking down shots from beyond the arc brings it home. 

In the modern-day NBA, it's no secret that 3-pointers are necessary, especially if teams want a shot at knocking off some of the most high-powered offenses. But the Thunder's stats to start the season serve as even more proof of that. 

In games where Oklahoma City converts on 10 or more triples, it wins. Simply put, the games that fall in favor of it do so because of the Thunder's shooting ability from beyond the arc — and the games that haven't? The Thunder notches 10 or fewer.

The lone exception so far this season came at home against the Golden State Warriors, where Oklahoma City scored 15 3s — on an over 50 percent shooting clip, at that — and still came up short. Considering that was the case against one of the greatest 3-point shooting teams in the league, however, the result wasn't totally outlandish. 

The Thunder's magic number from deep this season is 10, and it hit that Wednesday night, proving once again that it had the capability to do so, but also how important shooting and making 3-pointers is.

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