Warriors Live: Five answers about Thunder, plus updates from Sunday’s game

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The Warriors may have been hit with a dose of reality in their season-opening loss Thursday, but there’s a pretty decent chance things will get much better for Golden State on Sunday.

That’s because they’ll be taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder, another team dealing with a rebuild after losing two superstar players.

Here are five questions about the Thunder, who will host the Warriors on Sunday afternoon (Warriors favored by 1):

1. What’s left in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook in Houston and Paul George in L.A.?

The Thunder still have some star power with nine-time All-Star Chris Paul coming from Houston and Danilo Gallinari from the Clippers, plus rugged Aussie center Steven Adams remains. They also have promising second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who also came from the Clippers in the George trade.

2. What’s the early verdict on these new-look Thunder?

The expectations aren’t high for this team and so far the team has lived up to its lower-level outlook, having lost both of its first two games, including a disappointing 97-85 home loss to the Wizards Friday night. The break-neck pace at which Oklahoma City played under Westbrook’s leadership has become significantly more measured with the 34-year-old Paul running the show.

3. Have there been any early surprises in Oklahoma City?

The Thunder knew it was getting a talent in Gilgeous-Alexander, but the 21-year-old has been outstanding in his first two games with the Thunder. He’s notched career-high point totals in each game and is averaging a team-leading 27 points while displaying the kind of talent and versatility many projected from him.

4. What are some of the other concerns for the Thunder?

Steven Adams, one of the top centers in the Western Conference in the past couple of seasons, has struggled in what was billed as a potential break-through season. He’s missed a lot of shots (4-for-17 from the field, 2-of-8 from the line) and hasn’t provided the anticipated offensive boost. In addition, Paul has been an early disappointment, even taking blame for Friday’s loss when he had just six points on 3-of-9 shooting with more turnovers (five) than assists. A more immediate concern will be the likely absence Sunday of guards Andre Roberson (load management/knee) and Hamidou Diallo (ankle injury suffered Friday).

5. Which Thunder player could be an X-factor on Sunday?

Oklahoma City’s sixth man, guard Dennis Schroder, has been troublesome in the past for the Warriors, and that was when they had talented defenders such as Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala on the floor to help out. Schroder scored more points (22.7 average) and hit more 3-pointers (10) against the Warriors last season than any team he faced more than two times.