Oklahoma City's Josh Huestis, left, and Steven Adams, center, defend against Melbourne's Casey Prather in the fourth quarter of a preseason game on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. [PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN]

He's barely 24 years old, but it's not too soon for Steven Adams look back fondly on the good old days.

Times were simpler in his basketball youth — as recently as his NBA rookie season — when, as a 7-foot center, his defensive responsibilities were defined and confined.

“It used to be way easier, to be honest, just guarding post guys, traditional bigs,” Adams said. “You're just stuck to that dude and it's like, ‘He's gonna duck in now.' Really slow. Easy. Not easy, but you know what I mean.”

Uncomplicated.