Lessons from preseason

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The Thunder’s preseason schedule has finally concluded. Thank god.

It finished with Oklahoma City going a measly 2-5, losing by an average of 11.3 points per game. The final four games? They lost by an average of 21.2 points. They didn’t look very good and with the narrative very firmly about how they’ll perform without Kevin Durant, the slim sample size we have to work with doesn’t look all that promising.

That said, it was preseason. Half the roster — mostly the good half — barely played. This Thunder incarnation was more about Jeremy Lamb, Andre Roberson and Perry Jones than anyone else. And really, it’s probably for the best those guys saw the bulk of the floor time.

But despite the games not counting, there are some lessons and insights to put in our pockets. A few:

• Steven Adams. His final preseason numbers don’t stack up as sexy as he played: 12.7 points on 39-59 shooting (66.1 percent) with 6.8 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game. Per 36, that’s 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. Adams fouled out of two games and picked up five in another, but averaged just 3.8 fouls per game and 5.4 per 36. Not horrible, but not good either. Kendrick Perkins didn’t play a minute, but he didn’t have to — it’s clear as can be who the best center on the team is.

• Russell Westbrook was certainly up and down in the preseason. He shot just 36.9 percent and averaged 4.1 turnovers a game. And in the post-KD games, Westbrook’s numbers were fairly meh — 13.7 points on 37.7 percent shooting, 6.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds. He attempted 13.2 shots per game, in 25.7 minutes. That’s just 18.5 shots per 36 minutes, which isn’t absurd by any stretch. If anything, Westbrook might’ve dialed back his offensive aggressiveness a little too much, but I suspect as the games start to matter, he’s going to crank it up.

• I saw a number of complaints about how bad the Thunder’s defense was looking. Talib Zanna and Michael Jenkins were routinely playing 15 minutes a game. Chill.

• The offense looked better. The Thunder have worked a lot during camp to space the floor to stretch their opponent’s defensive shell. There was more side-to-side passing and just based on the eye, probably double the number of screens. In the past, the Thunder weren’t often a team that would screen and re-screen, then use a weakside pick while two players were running pick-and-roll. But there was a lot more action on the floor. Whether that produces more points and a better overall offense is yet to be seen, especially as things get tense with games counting.

• Anthony Morrow has shooting ability. In the preseason, 13-29 from 3, which includes an 0-5 effort against the Wolves. For the most part, when he was open, he knocked ’em down. During his 3-4 game against the Grizzlies, I looked over at Westbrook and Durant each time one dropped and both guys were grinning and shaking their heads. They’re licking their chops to have that guy on the wing.

• Bet on this opening night starting five: Westbrook, Morrow, Roberson, Ibaka and Adams. That group started the final three games, and it’s probably the group that makes the most sense.

• Perry Jones did some positive things. In the final two preseason games, he scored 41 points on 13-28 shooting.

• Jeremy Lamb was a bit all over the map in preseason, reaffirm what we seem to already know about him: He’s got talent, but he lacks the confidence and basketball intelligence to produce consistently.

• Outside of Mitch McGary, Kevin Durant and probably Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder are going to restore their depth for their opening game. They’ve looked rough right now because the bench is relying on D-Leaguers and garbage time guys, but once things smooth out, they’re going to look better. Whether that means they’re winning lots of games is yet to be seen. But what the Thunder have to focus on is not obsessing about wins and losses right now, but more about applying their camp principles and having a rock solid team in place for Durant when he returns. If that means leaning on Lamb and Jones more which costs the Thunder a game or two, so be it. It may be worth it in the long run.

Bring on the real thing.