Player Grades: OKC Thunder failure to play to defensive identity results in loss to Bulls

OKC Thunder Best Reserve:

I grudgingly give Dennis Schroder the best opponent honor and there are solid reasons for my angst. Best – Schroder smartly took the stolen Paul George pass straight to the basket to get the Thunder into overtime.

Perhaps unfairly I’m going to anoint Schroder into a leadership role in terms of captaining the reserves. His grade is for that very reason because while him scoring 19 points on 50 percent shooting with 5 rebounds and 3 assists should be at least a A grade there is another reality to address. On nights when the starters can’t muster the energy to be competitive or create a lead it’s up to the reserves to keep them in the match. That does NOT mean being the sole scorer.

Schroder attempted more than double the shots of the rest of the bench and that DOES fall on him. Granted no one was on fire, but giving Patterson one touch and the rest of his crew 11 total seems far too low. This unit has to be better and Schroder needs to assume the responsibility for them. I still can’t fathom why a Schroder-Noel pick and roll couldn’t be as successful as the Russ-Adams PNR so I emplore Dennis to get in the gym with Nerlens and figure this out. Then once that is functioning it will force opponents to defend it and open up the perimeter for Abrines, Patterson and Burton (oh – right Billy D didn’t even play him last night – another sore spot with me).

To insert above open up OKC Thunder home page and go to roster pictures. Whichever player you chose right click on their picture & copy html to enter into above code

Best Opponent:

In just his third game back the power forward is showcasing his growth and adeptness at the game. His 24 points came on a highly efficient 8 of 12 from the field and it was his scoring effort in close that pushed the Bulls to victory. And, when George missed the go ahead trey it was Lauri Markkanen that tapped the ball of reach. In addition he shot 50 percent from deep (4 of 8), connected on four of his five free throw attempts plus grabbed 7 rebounds, dished two assists, snared two steals and had a block. Overall a masterful game in 28 minutes.

Markkanen had a scare earlier in the game when he tweaked his  elbow on a screen. The same elbow which caused him to miss 23 games. But the big man was able to shake it off to deliver what in this scribe’s opinion was the most complete game of the night.

Final Thoughts

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• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Listen, OKC isn’t going to win every game this season – we know this. But, this loss hurts simply because it wasn’t necessary. If the OKC Thunder had played to their defensive identity and not allowed the young Bulls to build confidence early the script would be entirely different. On a night they were poised to assume the top ladder rung, this should serve as a reminder of how precarious the west is.

Instead they finish this week nestled back in the fourth seed with tough competition on the horizon. On the bright side this was just the fourth loss for OKC in 20 games, so perhaps it was inevitable, but let’s hope the takeaway for the Thunder is sticking to their defensive identity is critical.

For the full box score check out the ESPN box score and for game highlights, click the video above. The Topic: Thunder podcast crew offer their musings on the night here and check back later for the key  takeaways from the match.

Next up the OKC Thunder return home to prepare for a four game week featuring the Utah Jazz on Monday, a two game road trip to New Orleans and Denver and cap the week finishing the back to back set at home hosting the surprising Clippers.