Could Thunder starters still see action in the 2024 preseason?

The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to round out the 2024 NBA preseason on a high note. The team is 2-1 so far — with wins against the San Antonio Spurs and New Zealand Breakers — and plays tonight against the Denver Nuggets, who they’ll face in the regular season opener on October 24.

The tune-up games have been dress rehearsals for the focus and mindset the team wants to implement this season, as the expectations have soared through the roof. From head coach Mark Daigneault to the players on the roster, everyone has accepted that this season must be treated differently than any in the past.

The approach to end the early slate

To execute a solid finish to the preseason, we could see some starters playing considerable minutes.

Projected starters Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams were in the lineup in the Thunder’s win in the preseason opener against the San Antonio Spurs. In the next game, we saw a starting five that was close to what we will see on October 24, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort played their first preseason game, unfortunately, in a defeat to the Houston Rockets.

Against the Breakers, it was time for the rookies and G Leaguers to shine, as not a single starter suited up. It was a breakout game for rookie combo guard Dillon Jones, who poured in 23 points and flirted with a triple-double.

Going into the final couple of games, coach Daigneault previewed what the rotation could look like for the Thunder.

“Not quite regular season-ish,” he said of the team’s starting five to close the preseason. “But we’ll get everybody out there. We haven’t played in a couple of days. The guys that played against Houston haven’t played, even since the New Zealand game. So we’ll get a good little run here.”

OKC has checked many boxes in the preparation department already. It appears that the team has stuck with the principle of taking it a day at a time and brushing off the outside noise like the players mentioned in Media Day and during training camp.

The Blue and Orange will take on the Nuggets tonight at 8 CT and look to improve to 3-1 in the preseason.

Related: The OKC Thunder want to maintain a strong preseason run with a win against Denver