r/Thunder • u/basketball-app • 1d ago
Post Match Thread - NBA: The Rockets defeat the Thunder on Oct 15, 2026, the final score is 116-89.
Final: Oklahoma City Thunder 89, Houston Rockets 116
Oklahoma City Thunder 89 at Houston Rockets 116
Game Info
League/season: NBA Preseason 2026
Date: Thu, Oct 15, 2026
Tipoff: 7:30 PM CDT
Venue: Toyota Center, Houston
Status: Final
Scoring By Period
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 15 | 32 | 22 | 20 | 89 |
| Houston Rockets | 33 | 21 | 25 | 37 | 116 |
Team Statistics
| Stat | Away | Home |
|---|---|---|
| Field goals | 36/88 (40.9%) | 47/104 (45.2%) |
| 3 pointers | 5/36 (13.9%) | 17/53 (32.1%) |
| Free throws | 12/14 (85.7%) | 5/11 (45.5%) |
| Rebounds | 60 | 58 |
| Assists | 19 | 34 |
| Blocks | 3 | 5 |
| Steals | 3 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 8 |
Leaders
| Team | Category | Player | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Points | J. Williams | 18 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Rebounds | A. Mara | 9 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Assists | S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 3 |
| Houston Rockets | Points | B. Bogdanovic | 15 |
| Houston Rockets | Rebounds | A. Sengun | 7 |
| Houston Rockets | Assists | F. VanVleet | 8 |
Player Box Score
| Team | Player | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Thunder | J. Williams | 24 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | B. Barnhizer | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | J. McCain | 21 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A. Mitchell | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A. Mara | 20 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | I. Hartenstein | 19 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | B. Stirtz | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | K. Williams | 15 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | J. Dix | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A. Caruso | 15 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A. Holifield | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Z. Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | J. Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A. Pritchard | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | C. Tilly | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | O. Oweh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | C. Wallace | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | N. Topic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | T. Sorber | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | C. Holmgren | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston Rockets | B. Bogdanovic | 16 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Houston Rockets | A. Sengun | 23 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Houston Rockets | A. Thompson | 22 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Play-by-Play
Period 4 | 04:01 | Thunder | 84-102: Anthony Pritchard turnover (lost ball) (Oscar Tshiebwe steals)
Period 4 | 00:00 | 89-116: End of 4th Quarter.
Period 4 | 00:14 | Thunder | 89-116: Andrew Holifield makes two point cutting layup (Brooks Barnhizer assists)
Period 4 | 00:24 | Rockets | 87-116: Sean Pedulla turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
Period 4 | 00:26 | Thunder | 87-116: Josh Dix turnover (lost ball) (Sean Pedulla steals)
Period 4 | 00:32 | Rockets | 87-116: Jae'Sean Tate makes two point running layup (Julian Phillips assists)
Period 4 | 00:36 | Thunder | 87-114: Anthony Pritchard turnover (lost ball) (Cameron Matthews steals)
Period 4 | 01:29 | Rockets | 87-114: Quadir Copeland makes regular free throw 2 of 3
Period 4 | 01:29 | Thunder | 87-113: Brooks Barnhizer shooting foul (Quadir Copeland draws the foul)
Period 4 | 01:39 | Thunder | 87-113: Brooks Barnhizer offensive foul (Charge) (Jae'Sean Tate draws the foul)
Period 4 | 01:39 | Thunder | 87-113: Brooks Barnhizer turnover (offensive foul)
Period 4 | 01:49 | Rockets | 87-113: Julian Phillips makes three point jump shot (Jae'Sean Tate assists)
Period 4 | 02:07 | Thunder | 87-110: Brooks Barnhizer makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 4 | 02:07 | Rockets | 86-110: Quadir Copeland shooting foul (Brooks Barnhizer draws the foul)
Period 4 | 02:17 | Rockets | 86-110: Sean Pedulla makes three point jump shot (Quadir Copeland assists)
Period 4 | 02:28 | Thunder | 86-107: Josh Dix makes two point cutting finger roll layup (Christoph Tilly assists)
Period 4 | 02:44 | Rockets | 84-107: Bruce Thornton makes two point pullup jump shot
Period 4 | 03:00 | Thunder | 84-105: Brooks Barnhizer turnover (offensive foul)
Period 4 | 03:00 | Thunder | 84-105: Brooks Barnhizer offensive foul (Charge) (Julian Phillips draws the foul)
Period 4 | 03:11 | Rockets | 84-105: Julian Phillips makes three point jump shot (Sean Pedulla assists)
Period 4 | 03:53 | Rockets | 84-102: Quadir Copeland turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
Period 4 | 04:29 | Thunder | 84-102: Brooks Barnhizer makes two point driving finger roll layup (Anthony Pritchard assists)
Period 4 | 04:50 | Thunder | 82-102: Christoph Tilly turnover (bad pass) (Bogdan Bogdanovic steals)
Period 4 | 04:56 | Rockets | 82-102: Oscar Tshiebwe personal foul (Christoph Tilly draws the foul)
Period 4 | 05:13 | Rockets | 82-102: Bogdan Bogdanovic makes three point running pullup jump shot
Period 4 | 05:35 | Rockets | 82-99: Bogdan Bogdanovic makes three point jump shot (Oscar Tshiebwe assists)
Period 4 | 05:59 | Thunder | 82-96: Brooks Barnhizer makes two point cutting layup (Anthony Pritchard assists)
Period 4 | 06:16 | Rockets | 80-96: Isaiah Crawford makes regular free throw 1 of 2
Period 4 | 06:16 | Thunder | 80-95: Christoph Tilly shooting foul (Isaiah Crawford draws the foul)
Period 4 | 06:16 | Thunder | 80-95: Christoph Tilly turnover (lost ball) (Jae'Sean Tate steals)
Period 4 | 06:50 | Thunder | 80-95: Bennett Stirtz makes three point jump shot (Christoph Tilly assists)
Period 4 | 07:03 | Rockets | 77-95: Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point cutting layup (Bogdan Bogdanovic assists)
Period 4 | 07:42 | Thunder | 77-93: Kenrich Williams turnover (lost ball) (Bruce Thornton steals)
Period 4 | 08:00 | Rockets | 77-93: Jae'Sean Tate makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot (Oscar Tshiebwe assists)
Period 4 | 08:27 | Thunder | 77-91: Josh Dix makes two point stepback jump shot (Brooks Barnhizer assists)
Period 4 | 08:52 | Rockets | 75-91: Isaiah Crawford turnover (out of bounds lost ball)
Period 4 | 08:59 | Thunder | 75-91: Kenrich Williams turnover (lost ball) (Bruce Thornton steals)
Period 4 | 09:24 | Rockets | 75-91: Isaiah Crawford makes three point running jump shot (Reed Sheppard assists)
Period 4 | 09:44 | Rockets | 75-88: Bruce Thornton makes three point jump shot (Reed Sheppard assists)
Period 4 | 10:06 | Thunder | 75-85: Brooks Barnhizer makes two point cutting layup (Kenrich Williams assists)
Period 4 | 10:12 | Rockets | 73-85: Oscar Tshiebwe personal foul (Andrew Holifield draws the foul)
Period 4 | 10:26 | Rockets | 73-85: Isaiah Crawford makes three point jump shot (Jae'Sean Tate assists)
Period 4 | 10:41 | Thunder | 73-82: Kenrich Williams makes two point turnaround bank hook shot
Period 4 | 11:04 | Thunder | 71-82: Brooks Barnhizer makes two point running reverse layup (Kenrich Williams assists)
Period 4 | 11:41 | Rockets | 69-82: Reed Sheppard makes three point jump shot (Jae'Sean Tate assists)
Period 4 | 11:51 | Thunder | 69-79: Brooks Barnhizer personal foul (Jae'Sean Tate draws the foul)
Period 3 | 00:00 | 69-79: End of 3rd Quarter.
Period 3 | 00:35 | Thunder | 69-79: Jared McCain makes two point stepback jump shot
Period 3 | 00:56 | Rockets | 67-79: Fred VanVleet makes two point driving hook shot
Period 3 | 01:10 | Thunder | 67-77: Jared McCain makes two point fadeaway jump shot
Period 3 | 01:38 | Rockets | 65-77: Reed Sheppard makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 3 | 01:46 | Thunder | 65-74: Bennett Stirtz makes two point driving floating jump shot
Period 3 | 01:52 | Rockets | 63-74: Tari Eason makes two point tip layup
Period 3 | 02:15 | Thunder | 63-72: Aday Mara turnover (bad pass) (Reed Sheppard steals)
Period 3 | 02:27 | Rockets | 63-72: Fred VanVleet makes two point driving finger roll layup
Period 3 | 02:43 | Thunder | 63-70: Kenrich Williams makes two point cutting layup (Aday Mara assists)
Period 3 | 03:01 | Thunder | 61-70: Kenrich Williams shooting foul (Clint Capela draws the foul)
Period 3 | 03:28 | Thunder | 61-70: Aday Mara makes two point alley-oop dunk (Bennett Stirtz assists)
Period 3 | 04:04 | Thunder | 59-70: Jalen Williams makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 3 | 04:04 | Thunder | 58-70: Jalen Williams makes regular free throw 1 of 2
Period 3 | 04:04 | Rockets | 57-70: Reed Sheppard shooting foul (Jalen Williams draws the foul)
Period 3 | 04:29 | Thunder | 57-70: Aday Mara makes two point putback layup
Period 3 | 05:48 | Thunder | 55-70: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 3 | 05:48 | Thunder | 54-70: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 1 of 2
Period 3 | 05:48 | Rockets | 53-70: Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws the foul)
Period 3 | 06:34 | Rockets | 53-70: Alperen Sengun makes two point running finger roll layup (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 3 | 07:46 | Thunder | 53-68: Jalen Williams makes two point driving layup
Period 3 | 08:18 | Rockets | 51-68: Alperen Sengun makes two point cutting finger roll layup (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 3 | 08:35 | Thunder | 51-66: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point pullup jump shot
Period 3 | 08:48 | Rockets | 49-66: Alperen Sengun turnover (offensive foul)
Period 3 | 08:48 | Rockets | 49-66: Alperen Sengun offensive foul (Jalen Williams draws the foul)
Period 3 | 08:58 | Thunder | 49-66: Ajay Mitchell turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
Period 3 | 09:26 | Thunder | 49-66: Jalen Williams makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot
Period 3 | 09:41 | Rockets | 47-66: Fred VanVleet makes three point pullup jump shot (Alperen Sengun assists)
Period 3 | 10:06 | Rockets | 47-63: Alperen Sengun personal foul (Aday Mara draws the foul)
Period 3 | 10:25 | Rockets | 47-63: Bogdan Bogdanovic makes three point running jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 3 | 10:31 | Thunder | 47-60: Ajay Mitchell turnover (lost ball) (Amen Thompson steals)
Period 3 | 10:43 | Rockets | 47-60: Bogdan Bogdanovic makes three point running pullup jump shot
Period 3 | 11:38 | Rockets | 47-57: Bogdan Bogdanovic makes three point jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)
Period 3 | 11:45 | Thunder | 47-54: Aday Mara turnover (bad pass) (Fred VanVleet steals)
Period 2 | 00:00 | 47-54: End of 1st Half.
Period 2 | 00:01 | Rockets | 47-54: Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point putback layup
Period 2 | 00:34 | Rockets | 47-52: Kevin Durant makes two point pullup jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)
Period 2 | 01:15 | Thunder | 47-50: Ajay Mitchell makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 2 | 01:15 | Rockets | 46-50: Marcus Smart personal foul (Ajay Mitchell draws the foul)
Period 2 | 01:32 | Rockets | 46-50: Kevin Durant makes two point running dunk (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 2 | 01:58 | Thunder | 46-48: Jalen Williams makes three point jump shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)
Period 2 | 02:48 | Thunder | 43-48: Ajay Mitchell makes two point driving finger roll layup
Period 2 | 03:00 | Rockets | 41-48: Alperen Sengun makes two point cutting dunk (Kevin Durant assists)
Period 2 | 03:17 | Thunder | 41-46: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 1 of 1
Period 2 | 03:17 | Rockets | 40-46: Tari Eason shooting foul (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws the foul)
Period 2 | 03:17 | Thunder | 40-46: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point driving layup
Period 2 | 03:26 | Rockets | 38-46: Tari Eason personal foul (Ajay Mitchell draws the foul)
Period 2 | 03:38 | Rockets | 38-46: Kevin Durant makes two point pullup jump shot (Marcus Smart assists)
Period 2 | 03:53 | Thunder | 38-44: Isaiah Hartenstein makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Ajay Mitchell assists)
Period 2 | 03:58 | Rockets | 36-44: Alperen Sengun turnover (bad pass) (Ajay Mitchell steals)
Period 2 | 04:18 | Thunder | 36-44: Isaiah Hartenstein makes two point floating jump shot (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)
Period 2 | 04:32 | Rockets | 34-44: Alperen Sengun makes two point tip layup
Period 2 | 05:26 | Rockets | 34-42: Alperen Sengun makes two point driving dunk
Period 2 | 05:39 | Thunder | 34-40: Alex Caruso makes regular free throw 1 of 1
Period 2 | 05:39 | Rockets | 33-40: Tari Eason shooting foul (Alex Caruso draws the foul)
Period 2 | 05:39 | Thunder | 33-40: Alex Caruso makes two point cutting layup (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)
Period 2 | 05:50 | Rockets | 31-40: Tari Eason makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 2 | 06:03 | Thunder | 31-37: Jared McCain personal foul (Marcus Smart draws the foul)
Period 2 | 06:13 | Thunder | 31-37: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes three point running pullup jump shot
Period 2 | 07:13 | Thunder | 28-37: Jalen Williams makes two point driving hook shot
Period 2 | 08:34 | Rockets | 26-37: Amen Thompson makes two point reverse dunk (Alperen Sengun assists)
Period 2 | 08:56 | Thunder | 26-35: Jared McCain makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 2 | 08:56 | Thunder | 25-35: Jared McCain makes regular free throw 1 of 2
Period 2 | 08:56 | Rockets | 24-35: Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul (Jared McCain draws the foul)
Period 2 | 09:18 | Thunder | 24-35: Ajay Mitchell turnover (bad pass) (Alperen Sengun steals)
Period 2 | 09:54 | Thunder | 24-35: Aday Mara makes two point putback dunk
Period 2 | 10:19 | Rockets | 22-35: Alperen Sengun makes two point driving hook shot (Amen Thompson assists)
Period 2 | 10:40 | Thunder | 22-33: Jalen Williams makes two point running dunk (Alex Caruso assists)
Period 2 | 11:04 | Thunder | 20-33: Jalen Williams makes three point jump shot (Alex Caruso assists)
Period 2 | 11:32 | Thunder | 17-33: Jared McCain makes two point running layup (Aday Mara assists)
Period 1 | 00:00 | 15-33: End of 1st Quarter.
Period 1 | 00:28 | Thunder | 15-33: Bennett Stirtz shooting foul (Clint Capela draws the foul)
Period 1 | 00:28 | Rockets | 15-33: Clint Capela makes two point dunk (Amen Thompson assists)
Period 1 | 00:36 | Thunder | 15-31: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 2 of 2
Period 1 | 00:36 | Thunder | 14-31: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes regular free throw 1 of 2
Period 1 | 00:36 | Rockets | 13-31: Tari Eason shooting foul (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws the foul)
Period 1 | 00:41 | Rockets | 13-31: Clint Capela personal foul (Loose ball) (Aday Mara draws the foul)
Period 1 | 00:58 | Rockets | 13-31: Reed Sheppard makes three point jump shot (Tari Eason assists)
Period 1 | 01:08 | Rockets | 13-28: Marcus Smart turnover (bad pass) (Jared McCain steals)
Period 1 | 01:25 | Rockets | 13-28: Tari Eason makes two point driving finger roll layup
Period 1 | 01:36 | Thunder | 13-26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point cutting dunk (Bennett Stirtz assists)
Period 1 | 02:08 | Thunder | 11-26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes three point pullup jump shot
Period 1 | 03:07 | Rockets | 8-26: Reed Sheppard makes two point pullup jump shot (Clint Capela assists)
Period 1 | 03:35 | Rockets | 8-24: Kevin Durant makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Reed Sheppard assists)
Period 1 | 03:51 | Thunder | 8-22: Aday Mara turnover (offensive foul)
Period 1 | 03:51 | Thunder | 8-22: Aday Mara offensive foul (Marcus Smart draws the foul)
Period 1 | 04:04 | Rockets | 8-22: Alperen Sengun turnover (out of bounds lost ball)
Period 1 | 04:41 | Rockets | 8-22: Tari Eason makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Marcus Smart assists)
Period 1 | 04:46 | Thunder | 8-20: Aday Mara turnover (lost ball) (Marcus Smart steals)
Period 1 | 04:55 | Rockets | 8-20: Tari Eason makes three point stepback jump shot
Period 1 | 05:06 | Thunder | 8-17: Aday Mara personal foul (Loose ball) (Kevin Durant draws the foul)
Period 1 | 05:17 | Rockets | 8-17: Marcus Smart turnover (bad pass) (Jared McCain steals)
Period 1 | 05:26 | Thunder | 8-17: Isaiah Hartenstein personal foul (Loose ball) (Alperen Sengun draws the foul)
Period 1 | 05:37 | Rockets | 8-17: Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point driving finger roll layup (Alperen Sengun assists)
Period 1 | 06:50 | Rockets | 8-15: Kevin Durant makes regular free throw 3 of 3
Period 1 | 06:50 | Rockets | 8-14: Kevin Durant makes regular free throw 2 of 3
Period 1 | 06:50 | Rockets | 8-13: Kevin Durant makes regular free throw 1 of 3
Period 1 | 06:50 | Thunder | 8-12: Alex Caruso shooting foul (Kevin Durant draws the foul)
Period 1 | 07:17 | Rockets | 8-12: Amen Thompson makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Fred VanVleet assists)
Period 1 | 07:21 | Thunder | 8-10: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turnover (lost ball) (Fred VanVleet steals)
Period 1 | 07:30 | Rockets | 8-10: Alperen Sengun makes two point putback dunk
Period 1 | 07:59 | Rockets | 8-8: Amen Thompson makes two point cutting dunk (Alperen Sengun assists)
Period 1 | 08:08 | Thunder | 8-6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander personal foul (Amen Thompson draws the foul)
Period 1 | 08:13 | Thunder | 8-6: Jalen Williams makes two point driving layup (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)
Period 1 | 08:45 | Rockets | 6-6: Fred VanVleet personal foul (Ajay Mitchell draws the foul)
Period 1 | 08:51 | Rockets | 6-6: Amen Thompson makes two point driving finger roll layup
Period 1 | 09:02 | Thunder | 6-4: Ajay Mitchell makes two point putback layup
Period 1 | 09:35 | Thunder | 4-4: Isaiah Hartenstein makes two point driving floating jump shot
Period 1 | 10:06 | Thunder | 2-4: Ajay Mitchell makes two point driving floating jump shot
Period 1 | 10:17 | Rockets | 0-4: Amen Thompson makes two point dunk (Alperen Sengun assists)
Period 1 | 10:55 | Rockets | 0-2: Amen Thompson makes two point cutting dunk (Fred VanVleet assists)
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u/LuDortian007 1d ago
Mara-Hart is not a good idea under any circumstance
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u/Defiant_Ad6083 1d ago
I can see Mara and Chet with Chet playing the 4. But Hart and Mara is like two big ol Bisons trying to squeeze into a tent.
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u/LuDortian007 1d ago
Yeah, one of the bigs needs to space the floor. Chet or JWill pair well with any other big. If Sorber ends up being a floor spacer, same would apply to him, but jury is out on that.
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u/Defiant_Ad6083 1d ago
Yep, exactly. Sorber is not a shooter so I don't think we can even think about that. Not now anyway without seeing him play. He wasn't in college. No doubt he will improve but not this year.
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u/LuDortian007 1d ago
Well, he’s had 18 months to do nothing other than practice his jumper… one can hope.
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u/dhejjrrjbrbrd 1d ago
This might be true but we also need to just wait and let them build chemistry. We’ve heard that in the locker room during that first half of the championship season, they thought the Chet and Hart combo wasn’t going to work. But it completely changed as they played more and built chemistry.
We might not seem them share the floor much because of similar duties, but let’s not fully write it off yet
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u/Consistent-Gold-7572 1d ago edited 1d ago
Absolutely agree neither have PF skills and they clog everything up being on the floor at the same time and essentially playing the same type of role
I think Aday and Chet together is going to be our best combo by the end of the year. Aday brings so much more to the table than I hart if he can be physical and rebound consistently
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u/FinancePro21 1d ago
I know it’s the preseason, but they looked like a team playing their 3rd game in 4 nights…all in different cities. Get rested up and get ready to make a statement on opening night.
I am a little worried about Ajay, though. Sometimes guys can bulk up and not be as effective and he hasn’t looked as smooth as he typically does.
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u/ImplementNo9246 1d ago
That was just Mara and stirtz though, our actual starters haven’t played that much and they’ve only played 1 half in the games they did. I don’t like I hart playing like shit on both ends and jacking up 3’s. Hope they pick it up against the spurs
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u/FinancePro21 1d ago
Yeah the regulars don’t have much of an excuse.
I don’t love that Chet and JWill haven’t logged a minute either. It could be as simple as they did their work in practice and they wanted as many game minutes for Mara as they could get. Or at least that’s what I’m going to tell myself.
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u/Lex4Real206 1d ago
Yeah the shooting hasn't improved. Wish he just got some 3pt reps up. He was already jacked.
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u/AccomplishedSoft1 1d ago
Interesting game to watch due to different schemes and implementations but obviously didn't land well. Mara and Ihart had no chemistry with each other which is to be expected, Shai off ball reps obviously crucial but Ajay and JDub seemed to struggle on ball for different reasons. Shooting obviously didn't help as McCain and Stirtz seemed very off as 3 point specialists through I'm encouraged to see how this team evolves.
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u/Lex4Real206 1d ago
The defense seemed a bigger issue. Missing Caso and Chet obviously but I'm starting to see the no Dort as defensive tone setter effect. Rockets with van Vleet back and Bogdan off the bench are no slouches though. Gonna be a much bigger problem this year.
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u/AccomplishedSoft1 1d ago
Yeah i believe that's gonna be the case, which is why I partially wanted someone like Spencer Jones for fit reasons not that he's as intense as Dort. However i do feel like this OKC variation is less direct ball handling intensity than it is going to implement scheming defense.
But i will say Rockets playstyle has obviously bothered the starting players since Uma came in tbf.
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u/TonyGSalsa Bob 1d ago
I'm honestly glad we had this kind of loss in the preseason. There will be plenty to go over as far as what they struggled with.
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u/dhejjrrjbrbrd 1d ago
Thank you for having the most level headed take in this thread.
I’m not going to have any possibility of worry until after January. If they haven’t found chemistry and rhythm by that point, then it might be time to worry. But I’m almost certain they’re going to be playing some great basketball come Spring ‘27
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u/dacrookster 1d ago
Maybe Dort was the real mvp of this team
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u/Headlesshorsman02 1d ago
No Caso showed
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u/Defiant_Ad6083 1d ago
The lack of perimeter defense won't be like this for the season. Normal Caso, Caruso, Ajay, Dub minutes will be fine.
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u/TheAgmis 2025 NBA Champions 1d ago
The fact the moron Doomers are condemning the season already is such fucking embarrassing fair weather mental ineptitude
It’s preseason. Grow a spine
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u/CoolAsTheUnthawed 1d ago
You're the guy who called every person who had criticisms of how the team was playing last season a doomer and fake fan lol
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u/TheAgmis 2025 NBA Champions 1d ago
Because they are. The same people are complaining about preseason like it’s the end of the world. Those people cannot function in a real world setting without falling over themselves. I love being right.
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u/CoolAsTheUnthawed 1d ago
All last year you said there was nothing to worry about because nothing mattered but the playoffs and the regular season doesn't matter. You would talk down on people who had legit gripes. You kept saying we were the 01 Lakers and anyone who thought otherwise wasn't a real fan.
I do agree that there are people in here that overreact and shit on the players over nothing and they're annoying, but you were condescending as hell to EVERYONE who was being realistic about the team's flaws and criticizing the team in good faith.
"I love being right" ohhhhh brotherrr lmao. This superior fan that's better than you act you do is something else.
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u/Greg_1121 1d ago
Preseason is such a money grab scam. The real stuff happens in practice. That said, the shooting was ass. Hopefully the real team shows up big on Tuesday. I’m not real surprised about Mara. He was the best player on the court during the NCAA finals game this year. Hope he develops a shot that gets over Wemby.
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u/CoolAsTheUnthawed 1d ago
I think JWill should start at the 4 and Chet at the 5 ngl
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u/bermudayay 1d ago
What’s wrong with hart
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u/LeopardRoyal2450 1d ago
He's becoming an average rim protector and he occupies way too much space for fluidity movement ball.
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u/bharderr 1d ago
There is almost nothing good to talk about the pre season besides Mara looking good. I hope that the team can flip the switch for the regular season.
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u/Defiant_Ad6083 1d ago
2 x 20+ point leads with our starters in 2 halves. That's not nothing.
Stirtz averaging 20+ points. Mara the most blocks in all pre season and the huge minutes.
McCain being a flame thrower.
SGA looking ridiculous.
Dub looking like old.
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u/HoustonFoReal 1d ago
Not our full starting lineup. Cain and Chet will be starting, which we haven’t seen any of Chet, and he’s a huge difference maker.
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u/Good-Ant6859 2025 NBA Champions 1d ago
This is one of the dumbest takes I’ve read on this page lol
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u/lloopiN 1d ago
Classic reactionary posts after a loss... even worse that it's a preseason game lol. If Mara doesn't go for 30/15/20 against the Spurs on Tuesday, these same people will be saying to send him packing. I mean fucking hell they were wanting to trade Chet and JDub at one point.
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u/Justthis15 1d ago
Yeah good eye for noticing that. I’m not sure if these are new thunder fans or some of these guys are just spoiled. This exact game showed why we need everyone and not try to throw this “replacement” thing out there. If Chet was playing that would’ve helped flow our offense more but say we traded Chet, now we don’t have a big that can space the floor.
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u/RIce_ColdR 2025 NBA Champions 1d ago
Definitely bandwagoners. This sub was much better in the salad days
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u/logarithmsucks 1d ago
we look like what we are. a team that can develop guys way past their draft value and dominate the regular season because of it. but do we have the superstar pieces we can rely on to dominate the playoffs? im not so sure....eventually you need to package some of the 7/10 guys and get another 9.5
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u/BryNYC 1d ago
Lol we won a title like 16 months ago with the same superstars
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u/logarithmsucks 1d ago
okay?? other teams are getting better and making big trades. are we scaling up proportionally?
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u/BryNYC 1d ago
What teams in the West are scaling up and making big trades?
Twolves downgraded Randle and Naz Reid for an injury prone Lamelo and (lol) Jonathan Kuminga Lakers downgraded Lebron into Walker Kessler and a bunch of scrubs Rockets did nothing Spurs did nothing Denver downgraded Percy Watson into a washed DeRozan
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u/dacrookster 1d ago
They won it last year and were a Dub injury away from the finals again this year. You are waffling.
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u/pavelowescobar 2025 NBA Champions 1d ago
Do we have superstar pieces for the postseason?! Bro we have the b2b MVP, tf? Dub, for a good as he's looked is still a year or 2 from starting his prime yet & looks DAMN good. Yall bugging off a preseason game lmao
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u/ImplementNo9246 1d ago
I never want to see these exhibit 10 guys play again