Alex Caruso and Lu Dort have already strengthened their chemistry together

The Oklahoma City Thunder were already the fourth-best team in the NBA with a defensive rating of 111. That is a stellar number to get, and general manager Sam Presti knew they could still improve on that end of the floor. The desire for a better defense led to the trade for elite stopper Alex Caruso and solid paint protector Isaiah Hartenstein.

During Training Camp, everyone was excited about the versatility of OKC’s defense because Caruso and Lu Dort were playing together. Coach Mark Daigneault has been running multiple rotations, and those two top-tier stoppers were in the same five-man lineup alongside another awesome defender in Cason Wallace.

“We’ve really shuffled a lot around, we’re not limiting ourselves. We have versatile players that can play inside a versatile system. One of the benefits of that is you can play a lot of people with overlapping skills,” Daigneault said about having players like Dort and Caruso together. “We looked at everything, we looked at the teams even from a competitive standpoint, but not necessarily distributing skill sets, we’re trying to look at different things right now.”

The Thunder will be a tough team to play against

With the prospect of having Caruso, Dort, and Wallace playing together, it is evident that Coach Daigneault is trying to suffocate opponents on defense. The roster infers that there will always be a lockdown perimeter defender on the floor with either of the three.

At the same time, people should also remember that superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also a superb defender. It will not be surprising if the Thunder secure the best defensive rating for the 2024/25 season because they have all the tools to do it.

Coach Daigneault and GM Presti have done a fantastic job building this team centered on defense. The offense is already taken care of with SGA leading the way, but the defense has been boosted even more with the roster and the versatile system in place.

Thunder players are learning from each other

Another underrated benefit of Presti’s roster construction is getting players with compatible personalities. Adding Caruso and Hartenstein was already good on paper, but seeing them adjust to their teammates’ personalities and be natural fits on a human level is a good sign Presti knows what he is doing.

OKC has to deal with the pressure of being labeled as favorites for the 24/25 campaign. However, the team is prepared to take on the challenge and come out with a successful campaign. The goal is a championship, and they have all the tools to compete for the title at the end of the season.

Related: Jalen Williams says Alex Caruso and Lu Dort are already meshing on the court