The Oklahoma City Thunder earned their first win of the preseason 102-91 over the New Orleans Pelicans. Thunder fans were able to get their first look at OKC’s new Big Three as Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony took the floor together for the first time as members of the Thunder. Here are my five observations from tonight’s Thunder win.

1. Russell Westbrook looked like himself in his return to the court after he had a PRP injection in his right knee before training camp. Westbrook only played 10 minutes tonight, but looked good in his limited action. He scored nine points while shooting 3-5 from the field and dished out four assists. He ran the offense well and was able to find Paul George for an open three, Andre Roberson cutting to the basket and found Steven Adams twice for two easy buckets at the rim. This team is still getting used to each other but there were flashes of brilliance with Westbrook, George and Anthony all on the floor together. But the biggest win of the night was that Russell looked like his old self coming off the knee injection.
2. Paul George really took over this game, flashing his skill on both ends of the floor. He was impressive scoring the basketball in a multitude of ways. He dropped 25 points in 27 minutes. George was 7-14 from the field and shot 3-7 from behind the three-point line. He was able to knock down open three’s, hit pull-up jumpers and was able score at the rim. He did commit four turnovers, which was the the only downside of his otherwise excellent game. He was very active on the defensive end, gathering two steals and broke up an alley-oop pass rotating over from the backside of the defense. As good as his offensive game is, his defense has been equally impressive in the first two preseason games.
3. Alex Abrines has been out with a minor knee injury through most of training camp. Rookie shooting guard Terrance Ferguson has gotten his minutes in the first two preseason games and he is making the most of his opportunity. He has used his long arms to get in passing lanes and has made himself a pest defensively. I’m not sure what type of role he will have with this team this season, but he is showing promise as Melo and PG had high praise of Ferguson in their postgame comments. He scored nine points in his 24 minutes of action on 3-6 shooting, capped off with a monster dunk in the fourth quarter. What has impressed me most is his positioning on the defensive end. He gets himself in the right spots and gets his long arms out in passing lanes for steals. His biggest issue is his size. He 6-7, but he weighs just 190 pounds, so fouls will be an issue for him until he bulks up.
4. One thing that was concerning from tonights game was Andre Roberson. He just looked uncomfortable and out of sorts. He is turning down open shots, which I know most of you reading this are saying that is a good thing. But let’s take a deeper look. When Roberson passed on an open shot, it resulted in a bad shot or a turnover. His confidence seems to be down as well. As the team plays more together he will become more comfortable with his role offensively. One stat that really surprised me was that Dre lead the team in assists with five. He knows where to go with the basketball but it might take a while for everyone to get on the same page. When the team gets on the same page I think Roberson will look more comfortable.
5. I think I might be buying in on Josh Huestis. In the NBA, small ball is king. Guys who are long, athletic and can step outside and hit the open shot have a role in this league. That is Huestis. He is a good defender who can guard multiple positions, block shots and rebound. I’m not saying he is a starter, but I think he can give a solid 10 to 15 minutes a night. He has improved his three-point shooting too. He shot 2-4 from deep tonight. Huestis scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in 16 minutes. Let’s at least see if he can play. Up to this point he has played hardly at all and he is in year three of his career. The Thunder need to figure out if he can play or not. It might be tough for Huestis to play as he is competing with Jerami Grant for minutes. But I think he can play in this league and games like tonight can only help him going forward.

The Thunder will return to action Sunday as they take on Melbourne United from the Australian Basketball League. Tip is set for 2 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

-Michael Doutey | WWLS The Sports Animal