This isn’t the 2017 Thunder. Take scrimmaging, for example.
Billy Donovan entered last season with an older roster, as well as a trio of players (Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson and Patrick Patterson) working its way back from either arthroscopic knee surgery or platelet rich plasma injections. So scrimmaging was limited in camp last year.
Not anymore. Even with Westbrook and Roberson unable to participate in contact, Donovan said the team has scrimmaged “a lot,” to get players acclimated to each other, with emphasis on five-on-five play. Thunder practices and scrimmages are closed to the media.