1. Kendrick Perkins will be at 100 percent
What many people don’t know about Kendrick Perkins during last season’s playoff run is that during the 
conference finals and NBA Finals, he was basically playing with a torn groin. This is on top of the fact that he was matching up against players who were much faster than him in Boris Diaw and Chris Bosh, rendering him nearly useless during those two series.
Of course, even with a healthy Perkins, the Thunder never have been able to utilize his offensive game as much as Boston did. But he is still one of the best man-to-man post defenders in the NBA, and there are few guys I would rather have guarding Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan.
Lastly, without the groin injury, Perkins will be more mobile and able to provide help defense in the lane, something that was totally absent in the late stages of last season’s playoffs.
2. Eric Maynor is back
One of the team’s major problems during last season’s playoffs was the fact that they had no real distributor. Russell Westbrook’s game has been well-documented; we all know that he scores first and passes second. Fisher was brought in to provide experience and leadership, but James Harden served as the second unit’s de facto point guard. Despite his excellent court vision, Harden was a scorer before he was a passer, much like Westbrook.
I’m not looking to challenge Westbrook’s legitimacy as the Thunder’s starting point guard, as his success speaks for itself. But when Westbrook gets too out of control, you need someone who can slow down the offense, work the ball around and provide a change of pace.
Enter Eric Maynor, who suffered a torn ACL at the beginning of last season. He’s an excellent distributor, and he’s got the speed, experience, and just enough of an offensive game to keep the offense moving when Westbrook needs a rest. This will seriously help the Thunder avoid huge runs while their stars are sitting out.
3. Cole Aldrich and Perry Jones III are better than you think
I know I might be sounding like a bit of an unrealistic homer here, but both Aldrich and PJIII could provide some serious minutes this season. Both are untested in the NBA world, but both provide outstanding potential.
Aldrich has the ability to shoot a reliable hook shot with both hands and is an excellent rebounder. He tends to lose the ball and can look clumsy at times, but he shows more ability than a lot of 7-footers I’ve seen.
Jones is a 6-11 power forward, but in name only. He hangs around the perimeter, has some decent range and uses the triple-threat position to his advantage against slower big men. Obviously you always run the risk of him being overconfident and wasting offensive possessions. But if this guy could mold into something like a Kevin Durant-lite, then it could be exactly what this team needs.
4. Scott Brooks has continually improved as a coach
While Brooks wasn’t a championship coach right out of the gate, he has shown the capacity to learn and a willingness not to make the same mistakes. Earlier in his career, he was known for drawing up some really bad end-of-game plays, allowing Russell Westbrook to run wild with the offense and being rather uncreative with his solutions of matchup problems. I would argue that over the past couple of years, Brooks has gotten better at dealing with those weaknesses.
End-of-game scenarios have gone from setting a basic pick for Durant at the top of the arc to moving the entire team around the floor to find him open. He has been willing to bench Westbrook, who has become more willing to run the offense when things get harsh rather than mindlessly charging down the lane or handing the ball off to Durant.
Lastly, Brooks still suffers with matchup problems, as all of those open threes during the Finals told you. 
But down 0-2 against San Antonio in the conference finals, he re-organized his defensive plan of attack, experimented with different lineups and won the series. He might not be Phil Jackson yet, but I’ve yet to see him take a step back in his development as an NBA coach.
5. They’ve had another year to grow together
People really tend to forget that there’s one thing separating the Thunder from their competitors: They’re young. Aside from Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison, all of the rotation players are 24 or younger.
Despite their early success, the Thunder still got a lot of growing to do and haven’t yet reached the peak of their careers. If this young core can stick together, it is only going to get better over the next half-decade. And if things can fall in the right place, then no hastily thrown-together superstar combo will be able to stop the Thunder.
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Zebulun Benbrook is the manager of Welcome to Loud City, an SB Nation blog covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has written about the Thunder since their arrival and is a longtime NBA fan from Oklahoma City. You can follow him on Twitter @WTLC
Great points! I remain to high hopes for the Thunders!