OKC Thunder: 5 takeaways offer film on how to fix what’s wrong after game 2 loss
Oklahoma City’s offense is as basic as a sixth grade basketball squad. Aside from the oldest basketball play in the book (pick and roll), OKC fail to run pin-downs, double screen offensive sets or hit the open man in motion offenses with regularity. Isolation have been a staple of the Scott Brooks – Donovan era and its tiresome.
Simple plays like double staggered screen actions are useful when players are in motion. Through my years as a Thunder fan, I have seen this play only a handful of times, most recently against Memphis last year. Abrines curls beautifully off a Roberson – Adams screen.
The very next play, OKC run the same action with the same result.
With Oklahoma City lacking perimeter shooting, actions like these must be used with regularity to get the Spaniard open shots.
One of my favorite plays is the double down screen which Golden State use frequently. Against the San Antonio Spurs, Warriors guard Steph Curry utilizes the screens to cause a mismatch on the switch. Curry then gets to choose whether to drive on the mismatch or pass to an open shooter.
Or perhaps this intelligent wrinkle to create an open jumper. In this first part, its a conventional double down screen except GS use Kevin Durant as misdirection. KD goes to curls but instead becomes a screen, allowing Curry to break free.
The second part of the play sees Draymond Green step up to shield Curry from the defense which must fight through his screen. Curry lands the open bomb.
I am not saying Oklahoma must play like GS because they can’t. They don’t have the personal to play their style but simple plays like these are achievable in Oklahoma City. If the Thunder continue to run isolation and rely on contested jumpers to win games, it will be a long season and a short post season.
OKC need some offensive imagination to compete with the big boys.