Three Takeaways from Oklahoma City's 24-Point Victory over Atlanta

The Thunder have begun its season with three straight wins by double digits, being one of just two teams in the Western Conference to remain undefeated thus far.

Oct 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Keaton Wallace (2) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

With the Thunder's 128-104 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, Oklahoma City moves to a 3-0 start for the franchise's first time in eight seasons. They remain just one of four teams to be undefeated in the NBA, sitting alongside the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.

The Thunder's start to the season has gone just about picture perfect, as the team looks to be in cohesion and is playing at a high level while missing a couple impact players in Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams.

Here are three takeaways from the Thunder's Sunday night win:

Wiggins Gets the Nod

To begin the season, head coach Mark Daigneault has swapped starters for all three games thus far. First was Isaiah Joe, followed by Cason Wallace and now, Aaron Wiggins has joined the fold.

He's deserved it too, offering a great amount of two-way value for the Thunder to start the year, and he did again in his 18 minutes throughout his first start of the season. Nine points on 75% shooting with a rebound, assist and steal, he provided some solid impact again for Oklahoma City on Sunday -- but this time in the team's core five.

Big Three Back at it

It was a common theme a year ago. Games where your stars take over -- and with the Thunder containing three of them in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, when all three guys are on, they are a tough gauntlet to mitigate.

On the night, the trio combined for 80 points and a collective plus-57 plus-minus. Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander also added six and three blocks while Holmgren and Williams offered nine rebounds to Gilgeous-Alexander's 11.

It was a busy night for the Thunder's big three, and there'll be many more ahead of them this season.

Caruso Getting Comfortable in the Block Party

Alex Caruso is beginning to appear very comfortable with this Thunder group so far, and especially on Sunday night. Of course, it's known the value he adds on the defensive end, and it shouldn't be understated the impact he brings on that end. On Sunday, Caruso forced three takeaways alongside two blocks.

Those two swats accounted for just 16.7% of the team's block tally, as Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander had the team up to 12 blocks on the night, leaving the Hawks to shoot just 39.6% from the field in their loss.

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