Five takeaways from the Thunder’s blowout loss in Houston
By Tony Heim
2. This team has a formula for an elite defense
Going into the season all the talk from Russell Westbrook, Billy Donovan and Co. was defense. They talked about how this team was going to be a defensive-minded team that wanted to force turnovers and get out in transition.
When the Thunder win it’s because of their effort and communication on the defensive end. As we’ve discussed, they don’t have the offensive firepower to win shootouts against contenders. But they have the athletes to cause chaos for their opponents.
Controlled chaos is a term we see a lot with successful college defenses. Billy Donovan is a former college kid, coaching a roster of young, virtually college-aged players. Instead of forcing the pieces into his professional system, it’s time for Billy D to let these players loose.
Allow for more double teams in the post. Be more open with your switches. Create opportunities for your freight train of a point guard to get out in the open floor where he’s at his best.
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Just do anything to give this team some semblance of an identity. Right now the Thunder are trying to do a little bit of everything; that’s just not how it works for successful teams in the NBA. The Jazz slow the ball down, the Rockets outshoot everyone. Those solidified identities are why they have surprised so many this year.
We saw the exact copy of what the current team should play like in last year’s playoffs. Even though the roster has completely been overhauled, the same type of pieces are still there.