OKC Thunder fail to play to defensive identity losing to Denver – 5 key takeaways

Perspective:

This was the third back to back set the OKC Thunder played in their 19 games this season. And, prior to this loss, they were perfect with a 5-0 record. Likewise, the Denver Nuggets had a perfect 5-0 record in back to back games entering the match. So, something had to give. Unfortunately for the Thunder it was shooting and sticking to the game plan.

Let’s not forget the Thunder who’ve been rolling, especially at home were once again having to play lineups who’ve had little time together. Or the fact the wing depth is severely hampered with all the injuries. Hamidou Diallo and Terrance Ferguson are both out and are expected to remain out for potentially a couple weeks. Plus Alex Abrines is clearly not fully recovered from his bout of respiratory infection given his limited minutes.

And, dare I say it seems Billy Donovan has finally caught on to the fact Raymond Felton utilizes his time on the court to get his own shots up since he’s veered away from letting the veteran accumulate much more than five or six minutes per game. With the Thunder off until Wednesday, Donovan elected to stick with his starters hoping they could finish the comeback so Felton never saw the floor.

Despite the acrid taste of the “L” one thing is clear, this team is much deeper than the past two seasons and there are many players who Donovan needs to incorporate into the rotation. Each of Terrance Ferguson, Hamidou Diallo, Deonte Burton and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot have shown glimpses with Diallo and Burton arguably displaying the best fit.

Moving forward, once healthy these four players are options for Donovan to tap when the team is tired. And, with this many options there is also the potential to say – deliver and stay on the court. That is always a positive situation to be in as opposed to the scenario of the past few seasons when there was no one to tap on the shoulder.