As for the point guard, I'm afraid the Thunder will temporarily use veteran Al Watson, who has outstanding defensive ability, and Russell Westbrook, a teenager drawn in the No.4 draft, as a substitute. Watson is one of the few orthodox point guards with excellent defense in the league. However, the team chose Westbrook with a tall figure, apparently expecting the young teenager to surpass Watson and become the team's backcourt commander. How to arrange them according to their characteristics will be a problem worthy of attention.
The shooting guard is the best point of the Thunder. Kevin durant's various means of attack and strong psychological quality enable him to often come forward at critical moments and rewrite the war situation. What is worth mentioning is Durant's defense. Last season, he averaged nearly 1 steals and blocked shots per game, which is often overlooked. Durant may show more courage on the defensive end in the new season. The shooting guard's replacement is Nick Wilkins' nephew Damien Wilkins, the essence of human movies. As one of the main players of the former Sonics, Wilkins will provide more fire support for the team on the bench.
Should Keefe Green, who was getting better in the second half of last season, start, or should Desmond Mason, who is more experienced, return to the main position? The Sonics will make a corresponding choice in the position of small forward. Green's talent and potential are expected, but Mei Sen's physical quality and on-the-spot experience make him look even more outstanding. The distribution of playing time between the two will show the direction of the team's concentration.
Thunder's insider is an important reason why it is difficult for them to stand out in the west. Nick Kristen and Chris Wilcox's insider combination is too short, and their personal ability can only be called mediocrity. In the west, they are often dominated by monster-level insiders. However, joe smith, Mohammed Sini and John Pietro, who are old and weak, can't provide effective support for the pillars of the team. The restricted area of the team has become a huge gap between Thunder and the western powers, forcing them to attack mainly with a large number of jumpers, indirectly allowing willcocks to use his own steps to give opponents a blow inside. In this summer, Thunder still hasn't made much improvement in the team's inside line, which also means that they will have another hard season.