OKC Thunder: Five Takeaways from Blowout Brooklyn Win

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4. Shooting centers will give OKC problems

We saw this when Minnesota came to town (granted they still won). We saw this when the Warriors went small against the Thunder. And we especially saw this in the first quarter of tonight’s ball game.

Nov 18, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) drives to the basket agaist Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

The Brook Lopez-led attack resulted in 40 first quarter points for the Nets tonight. Lopez hit 4 of his five three-point attempts in the first quarter, stretching Steven Adams out like a rubber band. The problem isn’t that Adams can’t defend the three-point line. The problem is that it pulls Adams away from the rim.

With Adams away from the paint Brooklyn was able to capitalize attacking the rim. This forced OKC wing defenders to help on drives. The Nets 8-10 shooting from 3-point range in the first quarter was no fluke because almost every shot was wide-open.

This is where Billy Donovan and his staff played a huge role tonight. Instead of allowing those open threes to continue Donovan forced his defense to run Brooklyn off the line. The Thunder switched on more screens after the first quarter onslaught and they helped off-ball even more.

If teams are going to draw the Big Kiwi away from the paint than OKC will need to tighten up their on-ball defense. They can’t allow players to beat them off the dribble because Domantas Sabonis isn’t going to cause fear as a rim protector. The first quarter defense was horrendous, but a few minor adjustments was able to solve the problem. I worry against a better team that they will need more than just a few minor adjustments.

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