Thunder Young Core Shines Despite Preseason Loss to Pelicans

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost their preseason opener Tuesday night, but for all intents and purposes, the game went about as well as the team could’ve hoped as it relates to translating to regular-season success.

Oklahoma City didn’t play any of its usual starters against the New Orleans Pelicans, instead rolling out a starting five of Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell, Bennett Stirtz, Kenrich Williams and Aday Mara. Even then, the Thunder were the better team for much of the night. OKC led by double digits for much of the first half and carried a 67-52 advantage into halftime.

The Thunder then went even deeper into the roster after the break, sitting their primary rotation players from the first half and giving the final two quarters largely to rookies, two-way players and others fighting for roster positioning. New Orleans, meanwhile, used its starters and regular rotation for much of the first three quarters before ultimately coming back to earn a 116-110 win.

For Oklahoma City, McCain and Mara were two of the biggest standouts. McCain came out firing, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half and providing much of the Thunder’s perimeter scoring. Mara was even more impressive, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks in just 18 minutes before sitting the entire second half.

The 7-foot-3 rookie out of reigning national champion Michigan looked every bit like a player capable of cracking Oklahoma City’s rotation immediately. His size and rim protection were evident, but it was his overall feel and ability to impact the game in several different ways that stood out. It’s only preseason, but for a Thunder team that already has one of the deepest rosters in basketball, Mara looked like another legitimate option for Mark Daigneault.

Final scores don’t mean much this time of year, and Tuesday was a perfect example. Oklahoma City’s reserves built a 15-point halftime lead against a much more established New Orleans rotation before the Thunder emptied the bench. That’s a successful preseason opener regardless of the result.

The Thunder will be back in action Wednesday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks at Paycom Center. It’ll be a game that the standard starters are expected to get more run and Thunder fans’ first actual chance at seeing what this OKC team might look like.

From there, just two more preseason games to get prepared for the San Antonio Spurs on opening night.