Stiles Points: Could OKC Thunder Be Historically Great?

After an impressive 3-0 start, are the Oklahoma City Thunder the next in line to be a great team?

Mar 14, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with forward Jalen Williams (8) after he dunked against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Sure, we are only three games in. But it is easy to have a take with more data - it is easy to keep moving the goal post to a ten game sample size, twenty, fifty, a season or wait for the postseason to unfold and retroactively eulogize teams. But even just three games in, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the making of one of the great teams in NBA history.

Oklahoma City's lookalike so far this season is the Golden State Warriors cira 2014. No, it isn't with a borage of triples - though, not from a lack of trying - but that feeling of inevitability is present with this Thunder team as it was for that era of the Warriors.

It won't be with jaw-dropping 3-pointers from five steps beyond the line or lighting up the scoreboard routinely but the avalanche still comes. It's on the defensive end, hanging their hats on dismantling possessions with takeaways, bogging down plays with deflections, and flustering teams by flocking to ball handlers.

Oklahoma City, is able to out work their opponents by winning every hustle stat within games and biding time for their talent to take over.

Entering the fourth quarter, it was an 89-84 ball game and within a flash it was garbage time with the Thunder collecting their third straight lopsided win, 128-104.

This avalanche can be traced back to the second quarter where within two minutes Oklahoma City erased a ten point deficit capped off by Jalen Williams following a Chet Holmgren airbail to put it back at the horn. A play made completely off hustle and out efforting the Hawks, who had the rest advantage and grew a double digit lead.

Despite the offense laboring the first quarter, and for much of the first half, eventually Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over this contest and tallied 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and as many blocks.

The Thunder held on, clinging within striking distance with their defense and inevitably the superior talent took over and netted Oklahoma City a win. That is what great teams do and that is what those all-time Warrior teams did. It was cute to hang around with them - as it is this Thunder team, still down three key rotational pieces.

I am not ready to crown this Thunder team as a 73 win squad but they can - and likely will - be a team that the NBA world looks back on foundly as one of the sports best squads.

Stiles Points

• Holmgren looked every part the All-Star for his third straight game, this time getting it going from beyond the arc going 3-for-5 after being 0-for-the-season entering tonight.
• Lu Dort was impressive on both ends of the floor, continuing to improve his efficiency as an offensive weapon going 4-for-6 from 3-point and 1-for-1 from inside the arc.
• Ajay Mitchell earned more quality minutes with high-level defense and flashed his playmaking ability which could allow him to carve out a lane as the team's secondary ball handler this season if he continues to progress.
• Ousmane Dieng has vastly improved from his first two seasons in Oklahoma City, all while playing the small ball five - When the Thunder get healthier and he returns to a more natural position at the four or even three in stints, Dieng could look even better.
• Aaron Wiggins earned the start in this game, marking the third different first five used by Mark Daigneault in as many tilts. While Wiggins played well, his scoring and energy really serves the bench unit well as a reliable driver for when the bench needs scoring punch. It will be interesting to see where the starting five - which the Thunder bench boss calls fluid - settles in at as the season progresses.

Song of the Day: We Built This City by Starship

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