Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[HarkTheSound]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Had no idea MCW had that insane of a debut. His career really fell off a cliff after his first season or two because I remember he actually surprised a lot of people with the way he played very early on.

[studbucket]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Had no idea MCW had that insane of a debut. His career really fell off a cliff after his first season or two because I remember he actually surprised a lot of people with the way he played very early on.

Yeah, when the league discovered he couldn't shoot and that he didn't really adapt or improve his game, things went South. Too bad, because his size and some of his defensive and playmaking abilities were OK.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Only a handful of those rookies got wins. I think Holmgren's game was awesome, though the near quadruple-double for MCW against that loaded Miami team is worth noting. They won and it takes a lot of maturity to get 12 assists, 9 steals, and only 1 turnover on efficient shooting. MCW's may be more impressive given the context, but that doesn't take away from Chet's game.

If I were biased I would say Chet but that MCW performance is definitely better. I’m also biased because I was a huge fan of his Syracuse team and I live a couple towns over from where he grew up, so win-win in this debate for me!

Had no idea MCW had that insane of a debut. His career really fell off a cliff after his first season or two because I remember he actually surprised a lot of people with the way he played very early on.

Yeah, he was really good early but the lack of shooting ability killed his career unfortunately.


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Full Team Effort Leads Thunder Over Knicks





The Knicks’ new savior Donovan Mitchell (16 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) was aggressive early and wasn’t weary of rookie Chet Holmgren (20 pts, 10 reb, 5 blk) roaming off of Mo Bamba (10 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk) in the lane. As Mitchell thought he had an easy lay in, Holmgren went up and swatted it with two hands like he was blocking a spike on the volleyball court.



The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the worst defensive and rebounding teams in the league last year. Chet Holmgren changes that immediately. This was his first block of his career - sending back a Jerami Grant (11 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl) layup attempt. His length is such a deterrent at the rim that even when he wasn’t blocking a shot (which was rare as he recorded eight on the night), he was heavily disrupting shots in the paint.



While the star rookie stole the show - and rightfully so - in the season opener, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (22 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) reminded everyone that he’s the alpha male of the Thunder by scoring 22 points on just 11 shots. He abused the likes of Eric Bledsoe (2 pts, 5 ast, 0-7 FG) and Kemba Walker (10 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) throughout the game.



Not feeling too rejected after the block earlier in the game, Mitchell pulled Holmgren away from the paint on a switch and elevated for a quick-trigger triple at the top of the key over the outstretched arms of Chet. The Knicks were knocking down three after three early but went completely ice cold over the last 30 or so game minutes.



A rare highlight for the Knicks on what was an abysmal outing for the squad was this Julius Randle (11 pts, 14 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl) dunk over Isaiah Roby (6 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk) and Josh Giddey (10 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast). Still, it took 15 shots for Randle to score his 11 points and it’s clear the lack of elite shooting from him, R.J. Barrett (10 pts, 5 reb, 4 stl) and the entire point guard depth chart will really limit the effectiveness of this team’s offensive potential.



A slight glimmer of hope early in the 4th came with a quick run by the Knicks that was capped off by a patented mid-range pullup jumper in the lane by Derrick Rose (5 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) while getting hit on the arm by Giddey for the and-1. The ensuing FT got the lead down to 15 but that was as close as this game would get.



Josh Giddey continues to show off his well-rounded game over the first two games of the season and today was a first in his career: a triple-double. After pulling slow-footed Julius Randle to the perimeter, a quick move got him by the big man and an easy look to a cutting Lindy Waters III (2 pts, 1 reb) for a throwdown dunk to give the Australian point-forward his 10th assist of the game and first career triple-double.

[ZSmit88]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Great article on the rookie debuts! Also, that's an outstanding win over NY. That roster looks tough with Mitchell, RJ, and Julius. Plus they've got some nice surrounding pieces.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Great article on the rookie debuts! Also, that's an outstanding win over NY. That roster looks tough with Mitchell, RJ, and Julius. Plus they've got some nice surrounding pieces.

Thanks! That performance by Chet was too good to not have an article to go with it and I had fun pouring over some of the best debuts of the last 22 years.

It was a great win over the Knicks but I'm afraid that my sliders weren't working properly. Just went in and input JKits HOF sliders so I'm sure I'm in for a...treat...

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Siakam, Raptors Survive Scare from Thunder in Season Opener





From the opening possession, Scottie Barnes (18 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) was aggressive on offense against Aleksej Pokusevski (2 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl). The lumbering OKC big man struggled with the athleticism and strength of the 2nd year Toronto forward, routinely sliding off him into the lane. Barnes knocked down this mid range jumper with ease and it was clear that he was going to be a handful all night long.



Another 2nd year forward, Josh Giddey (14 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) had a near identical line of his sophomore counterpart and was routinely finding his way into the paint for easy buckets.



Stopping on a dime, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) got to the free throw line extended, losing Fred VanVleet (9 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl) in the process and smoothly knocking down a 15-footer that we haven’t seen nearly enough from him over the last season and two games.



The 4th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft Jaden Hardy (12 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) made his NBA debut and while he wouldn’t have found it among the greatest since 2000, it was clear he is going to be yet another young, talented player on this Toronto roster. For his first bucket of his career, he caught in the corner against R.J. Hampton (9 pts), jabbed towards the right, spun back to the left and finished with an uncontested layup.



With the Raptors defense keying in on both SGA and Chet Holmgren (31 pts, 14 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), running plays off of the two Thunder stars proved to be effective as Tre Mann (5 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl) found himself wide open after O.G. Anunoby (9 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl) got tripped up on the screen, giving Mann just enough daylight to drain a triple from the wing.



Barnes once again found himself getting by Pokumon on the wing. Being a smart, help defender, Giddey rotated over to get into position. Unfortunately it was too late and Barnes was already coming down hard on the rim and now over Giddey as well.



Holmgren, now averaging 27.3 points per game, caught a pass from Giddey while driving the lane and quickly elevated with one hand over Gary Trent Jr. (20 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast) who had a face of horror knowing that he was just about to get posterized.



Revenge was on Trent Jr.’s mind as on the very next possession he took it right at the rookie big man and beat him to the rim before Chet could truly challenge his dunk attempt.



After back-to-back SGA buckets off the pick-and-roll, the Raptors weren’t going to allow it a third time in a row as they doubled off of the screen. Like true floor general, the Toronto native calmly used a couple escape dribbles, surveyed the floor and found Lu Dort (3 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl) for a wide open three.



Off the dribble and isolated on Barnes, Chet calmly raises up and drops a three-ball over the long, elite defender. Holmgren’s range makes him a near impossible cover.



The names sound alike but Jaden Hardy uses the stepback made famous by James Harden to create immense space between him and the much shorter Mann to give plenty of air space for an easy three while trailing in the 4th quarter.



The Thunder did their best to abuse switches - mostly with Chet Holmgren - but Isaiah Roby (6 pts, 4 reb) punished Jordan Clarkson (6 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast) deep into the paint and hit a turn around fade.



After a DNP-CD in the season opener, Derrick Favors (2 pts, 2 reb) has found himself getting playing time over the last two games. The coaching staff believes his veteran presence out there and strong ability to rebound and set screens is much more valuable in certain spots and tonight was no difference. With the game going back-and-forth, Favors fought hard for an offensive rebound and an emphatic putback dunk with just under eight minutes left in the game.



After a massive SGA three from the left wing, the Thunder recouped the lead just under three minutes left in the game. Shai, playing in front of nearly 35 friends and family members, and Holmgren both celebrated being back in the lead as they went back on defense.



With only 1:10 left in the game, Gilgeous-Alexander slammed home a dunk in what looked like hyperdrive to once again put the Thunder up by one. On the ensuing possession, Pascal Siakam hit a 12-footer to put the Raptors back up by one.



Another response from Shai as he drains this stepback over VanVleet with just 0.8 seconds left on the shot clock and 34.2 seconds left in the game. The Raptors came down and instead of going two-for-one took the first good shot they could get as Gary Trent Jr. found himself open towards the right wing above the arc. After releasing the three, he turned and began walking back on defense with his follow through still being held. With 18.4 seconds on the clock, the ball swished through the net. The Toronto crowd went wild and continued cheering throughout the OKC time out.

On the final possession, the Thunder tried to isolate SGA at the top of the key but they clogged the lane and he had to settle for a long stepback two that bounced off the back of the rim and out. The Raptors survive!

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Is it ever too early to look ahead to the 2023 NBA Draft? This has been an annual ritual in Oklahoma City for years now with this rebuild, but with the team off to a 2-1 start, most fans have focused their attention towards making the playoffs this year. That’s fun and all, but what if you are a draft nerd? Do you have to find a new team to pull for in hopes of enjoying draft success?



Nope! The Thunder have potentially FIVE first round picks this year with none being potentially better than the Detroit Pistons’ unprotected first. There’s one other guaranteed first round pick that they will have at their disposal this year and that’s the best pick between the Thunder and the Clippers. The other three are all lotto protected via Washington, Miami and Denver. It’s much too early to look at standings but who headlines the class this year? Here are the prospects as seen by Draft Express to be taken in the lottery:

As you can see there is a nice spread of different players and positions across the lottery with a couple high upside potentially franchise players in the top-5 in Shaedon Sharpe and Victor Wembenyama. As the season goes on, teams looking to rebuild are going to be desperate to get their hands on some draft picks. If the season continues to be a success in Oklahoma City, could the Thunder decide to cash in their chips and go all-in on a disgruntled young star in the league? There’s a glaring hole at the wing in the starting lineup to potentially replace Lu Dort that could really change the Thunder’s outlook from a fun playoff team to a legit Western Conference contender.

As the season wears on, we will highlight some of the top prospects and do a deeper dive on their game. As the big boards continue to shift, we will see the cream rise to the top and teams will begin to jockey for position atop the draft lottery results.

---------------------

Author's Note: There weren't any good 2023 draft classes created and after reviewing the 2022 draft I just used, we were missing many players: Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Jeremy Sochan, Tari Eason, EJ Liddell, Ochai Agbaji, Mark Williams, Johnny Davis and Christian Braun. I went and found another 2022 draft class, exported those player DNAs and imported them into the draft class the game created for my 2023 class.

To try to keep up with the fun factor of the 2023 NBA Draft, we also added in Victor Wembenyama as well. For my universe's 2024 draft, we will probably do more of the same and pick out a few 2023 prospects in real life - Scoot Henderson, Amen and Ausar Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Dariq Whitehead, etc. to add some real prospects into a fictional class.

[studbucket]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Wow, OKC could definitely end up with more good picks.

Which picks have a chance to be in the top 10? Are you going to unload the other picks, maybe get a solid bench player or get more draft capital in future years?

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Wow, OKC could definitely end up with more good picks.

Which picks have a chance to be in the top 10? Are you going to unload the other picks, maybe get a solid bench player or get more draft capital in future years?

Yeah I completely forgot how much Draft capital we had this year because I was excited about landing Chet Holmgren (and not to forget about him, I’m very happy with Max Christie as well) and we won our first two games. I instantly went into playoff focus but while making edits to the draft class I realized we are primed for another top pick.

The Pistons are definitely our best chance at being in the top-5. They are still young and didn’t really add to their team outside of drafting Jalen Duren. I could see myself trading away the other 3 picks in some sort of deal to land us an impact wing that needs a change of scenery.

This rebuild may be much quicker than I anticipated.


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Durant and Defending Champion Nets Destroy Upstart Thunder





There aren’t many people that can slow down Kevin Durant (35 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), let alone stop him, but it was clear that the Thunder didn’t have one of those few players. Durant got to his spot whenever he wanted, elevated and knocked down jumper after jump. After scoring 14 of the team’s first 16 points, he finished with 35 points on 16-24 shooting.



A token challenge by KD on this Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (22 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast) dunk was pretty typical defense by Brooklyn in the first half. The Thunder got whatever look they wanted, mostly in the paint, en route to their 55 first half points.



Reigning 6th Man of the Year and 1st Team All-Defense member Ben Simmons (14 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl) was incredible on the defensive end including stripping Josh Giddey (13 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast, 4 TO) here on a live dribble while running through Seth Curry (9 pts, 5 ast). There are rumors that Simmons wants into the starting lineup at point guard to play with the Brooklyn starters.



Still as smooth as ever, Kyrie Irving (14 pts, 3 reb, 13 ast, 3 stl) sliced through the defense down the lane and around the outstretched arm of Darius Bazley (2 pts, 2 reb). Fresh off inking a 5-year max deal, the trio of Irving, Durant and Simmons are on a mission for back-to-back titles.



The only true scoring in the second half came from hunting mismatches in the post like Chet Holmgren (22 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk) punishing Curry in the post here. Brooklyn was more than willing to allow the Thunder to slow it down, throw it into the post and try to score two while trailing by 20+ points.



A rare triple by the Thunder - as they shot 5-30 from deep in this game - it’s an encouraging sign to see Josh Giddey catch a step beyond the arc, rise with confidence and knock down a bomb. The shooting camp Giddey attended this offseason hasn’t come to fruition on the court just yet and OKC could really use the help in the shooting department.



A budding star in Brooklyn? Cam Thomas (16 pts, 4 reb, 4 stl) was huge playing off of Irving and Durant in the starting lineup and made OKC pay time after time with big buckets, including two three-pointers. If Simmons were to move into the starting lineup, Thomas would be the most likely candidate to move to the bench and assume that 6th man role and be a microwave scorer off the bench.



Who says he can’t score from outside the paint? From six feet out, Simmons hits an ugly, fadeaway push shot over Bazley for his only points outside of the paint on the night.

[HarkTheSound]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Tough loss, you can tell the new sliders are in full effect lol.

That pic of Durant dunking on everyone is fantastic btw. Great shot.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Tough loss, you can tell the new sliders are in full effect lol.

That pic of Durant dunking on everyone is fantastic btw. Great shot.

Oh yes are the sliders in full effect. If I was better with my players’ releases then we would have had a chance to keep up but I didn’t have it tonight.

As you know, that was the 2nd worst beat down I took today considering the thrashing #7 Michigan handed my Hampton Pirates in our 3 team CH2k8 multiplayer legacy. [emoji1787][emoji24]

Durant was unreal this game and on that play in the picture he made a great cut baseline, caught it on opposite side of the floor, turned and just yammed on everyone. The facial expression made it even nastier.


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[ZSmit88]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Fared pretty well against the Raptors.. not so much against Brooklyn, as to be expected though.

Wembanyama!! Cannot wait to see him take over the league. Glad you added him (and a few of the others too).

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

SGA, Chet Put on Show as Thunder Outlast Hawks!





It was clear early that Chet Holmgren (31 pts, 26 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk) and his massive frame was going to be an issue for the Hawks in the paint on both ends of the floor. An early layup attempt by Kevin Huerter (14 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk) got completely swallowed up by the rookie sensation as he grabbed and curled it with one hand in mid air.



Luguentz Dort (9 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast) fires an arrow towards the bench in celebrating his first of three three-pointers made on the night.



The one person on this Atlanta team that you cannot lose sight of is Trae Young (29 pts, 3 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl). Many occasions, the Thunder defense did just that. The first of his five triples came on a corner layup for him as there wasn nobody within 15 feet of him as he caught, collected and connected from deep.



After getting beat off the bounce by rookie Max Abmas (6 pts, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl) out of Oral Roberts, RJ Hampton (3 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk) sprints back into the play, elevates and swats the shot out of the air.



Thunder rookie guard Max Christie (10 pts, 4-7 FG, 2-5 3PT) came in and connected on his first two shots. The first was a quick catch-and-shoot from just inside the arc in the left corner and then this triple a step beyond the line. His shooting could be an incredible weapon if it becomes more consistent as the season wears on.



Rookie Daimion Collins (7 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), who the Hawks essentially traded Clint Capela to draft, got the best of Darius Bazley (2 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk) on this play as he finishes with authority.



Feeling it after two quick buckets, Christie drives the lane on Pat Connaughton (10 pts, 3 reb). After the defender beats him to the spot, Christie forces up a wild, backwards flip shot over his shoulder that he somehow banks in off the glass.



Speaking of ugly shots, DeAndre Hunter (9 pts, 4 ast, 1 stl) takes a page out of Ben Simmons’ playbook with this one-handed push shot from about 10-feet away over the outstretched arm of Aleksej Pokusevski (2 pts, 10 reb, 1 blk).



The increased emphasis on shooting threes for the Thunder starting backcourt is starting to stretch defenses out further and further as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (45 pts, 3 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk) loses Abmas off a screen to drill a triple from the right wing.



Constantly being left wide open from beyond the arc, Jalen Johnson (8 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast) finally connects on one just before the end of the third quarter. He has to celebrate like it’s the first he’s ever hit because who knows if he will hit another anytime soon.



Tre Mann (14 pts, 3 ast) opens the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes to give the Thunder a 7-point lead with just 11 minutes left in the game.



A furious run by the Hawks, capped off by Trae Young pushing the ball in transition and finding Huerter wide open on the wing for this three gave Atlanta a 6-point lead with just 48 seconds remaining. The ensuing possession, SGA banged a three of his own to cut it to just three with 36 seconds left. Down the other end, the Thunder got a stop and now had the ball with 14 seconds remaining and down three.



In a bit of a scramble, Young picked up Josh Giddey (18 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl) who came flying off a Holmgren pin down screen. Giddey caught beyond the arc, fired and tied the game with just 1.5 seconds left! A Young three-quarter court heave wasn’t close and the game was headed to overtime!



The opening possession of the extra 5-minute period saw the Thunder bleed the clock, leaving Young on an island with SGA for the OKC star to pick on. Trae did a great job sticking to Shai’s hip, even on this stepback from about 15-feet out. Young got a hand in the face but it didn’t matter as Gilgeous-Alexander drilled it for the first points of OT.



A bad rotation by Holmgren as he hedged too hard saw John Collins (12 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk) slip and elevate, grabbing the lob from Young and finishing with authority! Tie ball game.



A Chet finish in the paint and then turnovers by both teams saw the Thunder up one and on the defensive end. The Hawks ran Trae Young off of multiple screens, losing Tre Mann in the process and freeing him up for this three-point bomb to give the Hawks a one point lead.



Will you have this dance? After spreading the floor and getting a screen from Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled John Collins away from the paint and broke him down off the dribble. After a couple quick twitch moves back and forth, the 6’6” power guard found himself in the lane, finishing a layup just before Collins could get a piece of it on the way by.

With the Thunder up by one, the Hawks missed the rest of their shot attempts and had to foul down the stretch. SGA went to the line and knocked down four straight without even a hiccup to secure a 5-point overtime win.