The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't start off the 2018-19 NBA season in the best fashion.

The team was forced to open the season without superstar guard Russell Westbrook, who missed Tuesday's opener because he's still recovering from minor knee surgery last month. Even without Westbrook in the lineup, the Thunder gave the defending champion Golden State Warriors all that they could handle in a 108-100 loss in Tuesday's season opener.

Oklahoma City slowed Golden State down as best they could throughout the game. The Warriors finished the night shooting just 44.2 percent from the floor despite attempting 95 shots. In addition, Golden State shot just 26.9 percent as they connected on only seven of their 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Star guard Stephen Curry did drill five of his nine shots from long-range, but no other Warrior really seemed to find their groove from the perimeter.

In fact, the Thunder had a lot to do with that. Oklahoma City was able to register six blocks on the night, including three coming courtesy of Jermai Grant.

From Brett Dawson of The Athletic:

“Our length is the key,” Dennis Schröder said. “I think when Russ comes back, and even (Andre) Roberson, on the defensive end, we’re really special. I think it’s hard to score against us when everybody’s out there and everybody’s healthy.”

One of the biggest positives for the Thunder entering the season was the amount of athleticism that the team has on the roster. The team obviously displayed that throughout Tuesday's contest especially on the defensive end.

Schroder's comments definitely have some validity considering the amount of talent that the team does have. Missing a strong on-the-ball defender in Westbrook certainly wasn't ideal and Andre Roberson is one of the most talented defenders in the entire NBA. Once the Thunder get healthy, it's possible that this will be one of the harder units to score on around the league.

Paul George also weighed in on the defensive situation after the game and echoed some similar sentiments to what Schroder did. The Thunder weren't intimidated by the stellar offensive attack that the Warriors brought to the table in the slightest.

“They got guys that make those kind of shots,” said George, who led the Thunder with 27 points. “But we’ll take that over the alternative of (them) getting wide-open 3s or wide-open looks in general. That’s what our defense was about, trying to force them into length and make them make tough shots.”

Oklahoma City definitely has the potential to be one of the most well-rounded teams in the Western Conference throughout the season. This was obviously a great starting point with only surrendering 108 points to the Warriors in the season opener and mostly holding their vaunted offensive attack to a relatively low clip from the perimeter.