OKC Thunder key takeaways from NBA game of the year

Abdel Nader needs more minutes – period.

For the most part, the bench was atrocious for the Thunder in the loss. This points to a couple of things. First of all, Nerlens Noel not being available made life difficult for the Thunder because the Spurs have a slew of big men.

Not only was Aldridge on fire but Popovich has 7′ men Pau Gasol and Jakob Poeltl hitting the court as well as Davis Bertans. Without Noel that’s a lot for an undersized Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson to deal with.

If anything it speaks to the lack of depth the Thunder have in the front court.

Still, the lone bright spot for the reserves this night was Abdel Nader who offered some energy, scoring, and a lift. The more we see of Nader the more it seems Billy Donovan should be giving him additional playing time.

In addition, the other clear problem is how Dennis Schroder has been playing of late. When he’s on the court he’s calling his own shot more than playmaking (something which was highlighted by how well Westbrook ran the hybrid lineup of reserves and starters). Schroder’s inability to defend wasn’t present early in the season which begs the question – is this tied to effort? injury? or regression?

Bottom line, Nader (like Ferguson and Diallo) is showcasing reasons to keep them on the floor and Westbrook has delivered examples for Schroder on how to utilize them to their potential. Hopefully, this is a minor blip from Schroder, however, moving forward it’s something to keep an eye on given his theatrics in the Minnesota game as well.