It wasn't perfect offensively for the Thunder against the Clippers but, as since the start of the season, Oklahoma City raised the tone when necessary, with a defense capable of shutting down the opponent…
This gives six victories in six games for Chet Holmgren and his comrades, who are having the best start to the season in the history of the franchise (since his arrival in Oklahoma).
“There are 76 matches left” tempers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “We are very far from what we want to accomplish, which is to win big. So yeah, it's pretty cool. But we are not satisfied at all. »
Historic defensive bases
Certainly, there is still work to be done on the offensive side, and the rather lenient schedule at the start of the campaign (Nuggets, Bulls, Hawks, Spurs, Blazers, Clippers) has not done any harm to a team which must do without Isaiah Hartenstein, but this Thunder has won its matches by at least 12 points, with an average of 17.7 points…
It is above all the hyper-versatile and aggressive defense that impresses, with the Thunder's opponents losing the ball on 20.3% of their possessions, which is easily the highest rate in the entire league at the moment.
Moreover, the Thunder's “Defensive Rating” over its first six games is 94.9 points conceded over 100 possessions. Again, this is the best in the entire NBA. Even if the sample is obviously very small and OKC will obviously have difficulty maintaining this defensive pace over 82 games, and it will not stay this low, we have to go back to the 2004 Spurs to find such stats over a season …
“I don’t think any team has hung a banner for six straight wins.” However, concludes Chet Holmgren, very happy that the season has only just begun. Even if it is better to start it like this.
