Gameday preveiw: OKC Thunder get first shot at Ryan Saunders led Wolves
The truth about KATs and dogs:
Steven Adams will need to summon his best dog-like defense to contain Karl-Anthony Towns who is playing up to his perceived max value. Through the last seven games KAT is averaging 27.1 points, 17 rebounds (5 on the offensive glass), 4.9 assists, a steal, 2.9 blocks and shooting just under 38 percent from deep.
If the Thibs firing equates to a similar result as the departure of Butler, OKC can expect a focused Towns. In the first game following the trade KAT produced a 25 point, 21 rebound effort. And, if his initial comments are anything to go by he seems excited for the new style Ryan Saunders will bring to the court.
| Rk | Date | Age | Opp | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Date | Age | Opp | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | +/- | ||
| 34 | 2018-12-26 | 23-041 | @ | CHI | W (+25) | 1 | 34:55 | .615 | 1.000 | .667 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | +30 |
| 35 | 2018-12-28 | 23-043 | ATL | L (-3) | 1 | 42:38 | .588 | .250 | .667 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 31 | +1 | |
| 36 | 2018-12-30 | 23-045 | @ | MIA | W (+9) | 1 | 37:04 | .500 | .500 | .778 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 34 | +15 |
| 37 | 2018-12-31 | 23-046 | @ | NOP | L (-9) | 1 | 36:33 | .435 | .400 | .750 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 28 | +6 |
| 38 | 2019-01-02 | 23-048 | @ | BOS | L (-13) | 1 | 37:04 | .571 | .500 | 1.000 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 28 | -5 |
| 39 | 2019-01-04 | 23-050 | ORL | W (+17) | 1 | 31:47 | .550 | .167 | .750 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 29 | +21 | |
| 40 | 2019-01-06 | 23-052 | LAL | W (+22) | 1 | 35:20 | .550 | .250 | 1.000 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 28 | +26 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/8/2019.
Tempo will be a factor:
Directly from the horse’s mouth – or should I say KAT’s mouth, came the first hints of what the Saunders style should include. When asked what he expects Towns said a more “up tempo, more modern style of play”.
1/7/19: Karl-Anthony Towns on Ryan Saunders taking over for Thibodeau: https://t.co/KTxsudZ0Ii via @YouTube
— Zone Coverage (@ZoneCoverageMN) January 7, 2019
Although it was just a response to a question, it does stand to reason the powers that be will look to showcase their two young stars to their greatest potential. Wiggins more than anyone would benefit from a faster pace where he can get out in transition and score via fast break opportunities. The addition of Robert Covington also speaks to this being a logical path for the Wolves to take.
What this means for the Thunder is they’ll need to be prepared to shut down the Wolves particularly in transition and not allow Minnesota to dictate the pace.
Attack the Wolves guards and wings:
The Thunder gets a break with both Covington and Rose listed as out due to injury. Paul George, in particular, should be able to feast while Westbrook has the definitive advantage over Teague. Minny is relying on rookie Josh Okogie and two-way player Jared Terrell to man the shooting guard position so OKC needs to attack this area given their obvious roster advantage.
Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points in the last match December 23 which makes him another priority for Billy D’s chalkboard game plan.
OKC may be without Dennis Schroder who is nursing a quad injury which may speak to his recent shooting struggles. If he is out look for additional play handling from George and potentially more minutes for Abdel Nader.