Five takeaways from the Thunder win in New Orleans

Jan 25, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after teammate center Enes Kanter (not pictured) during against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Three games against the New Orleans Pelicans this year, three blowout victories for the OKC Thunder. And this one was never in doubt.

Wednesday night was a beautiful evening for OKC Thunder fans. Sure they didn’t extend a 19-point halftime lead; that’s okay. The fact that Oklahoma City was able to open up such a large lead playing on the back end of a six-game road trip is impressive.

A lot happened tonight. Enes Kanter (playing with four fresh stitches under his left eye) continued his recent scoring barrage for another double-double. Bench partner Alex Abrines scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting from the field, including 2-2 from deep. And Steven Adams scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and dished out 3 assists. But we’ll talk about him later.

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The most impressive item about tonight, however, was Russell Westbrook. Not how he played, because that wasn’t pretty. No, what impressed me was how everyone else stepped up their play once they realized Westbrook was having an off night.

That’s a bonus takeaway for ya. I have five more if you’re interested. Let’s get it started!

Jan 25, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Terrence Jones (9) drives in against Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) and guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans 114-105. Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

5. Help defense is the Thunder’s most important key

Wednesday night was a tale of two halves. Oklahoma City only gave up 45 points to a Pelicans team playing with Anthony Davis. But in the second half-playing without Davis-the Pelicans scored 60. That was a direct result of effort, and more importantly, help defense.

With Davis out New Orleans played a more well-rounded gameplan with more off-ball movement. Because the Thunder were up 19 at the start of the third quarter they came out flat, allowing a borderline D-League team slowly chip away at the lead. As OKC stopped communicating, the Pelicans found themselves with an abundance of open layups.

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Adams three blocks in the first half are a perfect example of how the Thunder played perfect help defense. Instead of immediately switching on screens, OKC guards fought through the picks. They led the guards to the paint where the Big Kiwi was waiting. But once the Pelicans spread the floor out with Donatas Motiejunas at the five, Adams couldn’t protect the paint.

Is Draymond Green afraid of Cameron Payne blocking his shot? Heck no. But Payne’s mere presence forces him to stumble, and Victor Oladipo’s positioning seals off the easy pass to Andre Iguodala AND Klay Thompson.

That stuff comes with time. But the fact we are starting to see improvements (first half against Golden State and New Orleans, Monday’s game against Utah) is a fantastic sign for OKC.

Dec 25, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (8) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

4. Sabonis, Abrines are finally starting to act like they belong

We are over halfway through the season now and Domantas Sabonis and Alex Abrines are growing up in front of our eyes. This maturation is happening in two completely different manners.

Sabonis, one one hand, is in the middle of a truly terrible shooting slump; it’s his confidence and overall physicality that has turned my head. With Abrines, he always had the confidence (on offense), but his shot wasn’t falling. Now the shot is falling AND he’s making plays on the defensive end.

Tonight Sabonis played 28 minutes, recording the second highest +/- of the night. He didn’t have the most eye-popping statline, finishing with eight points and six rebounds. But the big indicator in his evolution are his field goal attempts. The 20-year old took 7 attempts from the field; only two came from deep.

Domas came into the NBA as a dominant post presence in college, but his lack of a right hand partnered with the team playing style forced him to the perimeter. Now Sabonis still doesn’t have a right hand, but he’s learning how to score inside without it.

As nice as it is having a stretch four, shooting isn’t Sabonis’ natural strength. The more he works on his game down low, the more his perimeter game will open up.

With Abrines…I could go on for hours. But all you need to know is this. The Spaniard sharpshooter had a block AND a steal tonight; that’s only the second time he’s done that in his short career. Oh and he scored 11 points on five shots.

January 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during a stoppage in play against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Staples Center. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

3. Everyone but Russell Westbrook is cutting back on turnovers

Turnovers and too many threes have been the biggest offensive issue with the Thunder this season. They aren’t cutting back on threes anytime soon, but we are starting to see a decrease in team turnovers. Well… kinda.

On the season Oklahoma City is averaging 15 turnovers a game, good for the ninth most in the NBA. Russell Westbrook infamously is a main cog in that high number, averaging the second-most with 5.6 a game.

In the last five games the Thunder are averaging a little under 16 turnovers a game. Russ sits at an average of seven TO’s in that span. And in the game before? He had 10. It’s not like Westbrook is getting the ball more (he’s actually taken less field goal attempts) either. A lot of it has to do with a notorious Westbrook bad habit: the jump pass.

Here’s a better example.

That’s one of the worst habits in basketball. As soon as Westbrook jumps he loses any advantage he had on his defender. With his combination of strength, speed and jumping ability, Russ is impossible to guard on the ground. But as soon as he jumps in the air it takes away Westbrook’s many options.

I need to say this though: I’m not angry at Russ for the amount of turnovers. He has the ball in his hands at the end of most possessions, so turnovers will happen. I’m just upset with the little, fixable mental errors like the jump pass.

Dec 9, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) passes the ball in front of Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell (5) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

2. Steven Adams’ passing is the most underrated part of his game

There is one distinct reason why my mouth salivates about a Sabonis/Adams frontcourt of the future. Sure it’s nice having two players with differing skillsets, but the real beauty is how good both bigs are at passing.

Steven Adams: Big man can dish the rock. pic.twitter.com/v1HGCyRw4G

— Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) January 26, 2017

I mean that’s just not fair. As Adams continues to improve his offensive game it’s going to become almost mandatory for teams to double-team him down low to stop him. But the Big Kiwi has already proven that doesn’t bother him.

Having bigs that excel at passing is incredibly offense for an elite offense. Just look at the opportunities that Golden State finds themselves in because of Draymond’s passing ability! The Thunder now have potentially two bigs with an elite skill.

Tonight Adams finished with three assists including that beauty to Andre Roberson. He’s only averaging one on the season; it’s more important knowing that skill is already in place. As the Thunder begin to move away from a Westbrook-centered offense in the future, having both Adams and Sabonis will provide Billy Donovan a perfect building block.

Jan 25, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans 114-105. Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

1. The Thunder could finish January ten games over .500

Who would have thought that this team may finish January over .500 after starting the month 0-3? January was rightfully labeled as the Month of Death. It had its moments; considering the circumstances it has been anything but a failure.

As of now OKC sits at 6-6 for the month, 27-19 on the season. They’ve played 10 of their 12 games on the road, with every matchup (besides the Timberwolves) being against a team in playoff contention.