West Notes: Thunder, continuity, Blazers, Scoot Henderson, Kings

August 26, 2025

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Thunder, NBA — File photo

The Thunder will return 99.2 percent of their playoff minutes from last season’s title run. No, seriously.

The only departure is Dillon Jones, who logged 46 minutes of garbage time, as written by ESPN’s Zach Kram. Continuity like that is rare, and it only strengthens the Thunder’s case as they attempt the NBA’s first repeat in eight years.

Their young core has more high-stakes experience, they still have enviable depth, and they already set the league record for point differential last season. The scary part? They might be even better in 2025-26.

Blazers’ turnover problem: Portland is on the rise after adding Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard (when healthy) to a roster that already finished strong, with a defense built around Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan. But Kram warns the offense could unravel thanks to turnovers. The Blazers ranked 29th in turnover rate last season, giving the ball away on 16 percent of possessions. Trading Anfernee Simons –their best in assist-to-turnover ratio — makes that risk greater. With Lillard sidelined and Scoot Henderson forced into a bigger role, the numbers don’t inspire confidence. Among 30 point guards with at least 1,000 minutes and above-average usage, Henderson ranked 29th in turnover rate. The only player worse: Russell Westbrook.
Kings back in limbo: Sacramento’s new big three of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine looked promising on paper, but not on the floor. In over 1,000 possessions together last year, the trio was outscored, allowing 120.9 points per 100 possessions — good for the 11th percentile leaguewide, per Kram. Add Malik Monk into that mix and the defense cratered to the 3rd percentile with a 124.8 rating. Some of it was bad 3-point luck, but it’s not as if the Kings have the defensive personnel to cover the gap. After a short competitive window, Sacramento seems again stuck between an offense-heavy identity and a defense that can’t keep them afloat.