The first game of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024 Summer League wasn’t ideal, but it showed a lot of promise.
The Thunder fell to the Philadelphia 76ers, 102-92, where it couldn’t keep up the same offensive pace in the second half. Still, players such as Adam Flager and Ajay Mitchell impressed with 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Dillon Jones had a near triple double of nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Utah Jazz will be Oklahoma City’s next opponent, who just narrowly defeated the Memphis Grizzlies. They will have the advantage in their hometown of Salt Lake City, so the Thunder will certainly have its hands full in its second contest.
If Oklahoma City were to lose tonight it would be below .500 heading into Las Vegas, which it would of course like to avoid.
As mentioned, the Thunder had a few standouts in its first contest. Two of those were incoming rookies Jones and Mitchell, which is a good sign moving forward for the rest of Summer League. However, there were some dissapointments.
Ousmane Dieng recorded 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, but struggled with a 3-of-14 shooting performance that dampened his night. Efficiency as a whole was a problem for Oklahoma City in the loss to Philadelphia, only recording a 39.3% shooting percentage or the entire contest. To get a win tonight, it’ll have to shoot the basketball more efficiently.
Keyonte George had a 30-point game for Utah last night, 17 of which came from the free-throw line. Incoming rookie Isaiah Collier also had a great first outing of his own, dropping 14 points, six rebounds and six assists on 5-of-11 shooting. It has a roster full of solid options, not to mention the brother of Jalen Williams: Cody Williams.
To prevent another loss, the Thunder will need to play at a consistent level for all four quarters instead of getting to ahead of itself in the second half. It has the talent, it just needs to put it all together.
Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) at Utah Jazz (1-0)
Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. CDT
Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah
ESPN2, 98.1 FM
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)
After one game, there’s no need for Okahoma City to panic. It has plenty of time to figure out the rotation and how to play together, but if it can play a full game, grabbing its first win of Summer League is very possible against the Jazz.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/thunder-gameday-okc-regroups-to-take-on-utah-jazz
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-09 09:41:17
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.