Steven Adams long bomb cripples Wolves as OKC Thunder net OT win – 3 takeaways

What’s going on with Donovan’s rotation?

The key takeaway of note is the very odd choices Billy Donovan is making with regards to his lineups and substitutions.

With Terrance Ferguson out of the game due to right hip soreness someone had to replace him and Abdel Nader got the tap. This is odd given Nader isn’t really a player we’d cite as a defensive minded individual. Nader has shot well of late but putting him in the starting rotation limits those touches since the pecking order, especially with Adams rolling again, would clearly place him as last on the list. To that end, he took THREE shots.

Granted the options are limited at the wing with both TFerg and Hamidou out injured and the mysterious case of Deonte Burton being suspended for a lockerroom altercation. Which – for what it’s worth — inquiring minds NEED to know what happened here as every interview with Burton he comes across a humble team player type.

So – what’s the deal? Was it with Donovan over his minutes (unlikely)? Was it with Schroder for never passing him the ball (maybe)? Was it with another player because he did something wrong in the Pacers game? Ummm he played all of eight minutes got one shot attempt and was a team-best plus six in the differential.

The narrator’s guess is Schroder since Burton is all ears when any of Paul, SGA, Adams or Gallo talk to him on the court and he’s buddies with all the young guys. We’ll see if more news gets dispersed but it’s unlikely since Presti keeps these things on lock typically. in fact, the only reason we’re probably aware of it is that it has to be made official when a player is suspended.

Bottom line there weren’t tons of options outside of Schroder starting but seeing how much he enjoyed taking on former Hawks teammate Jeff Teague perhaps that was a wise decision. Donovan could also have gone big and inserted Mike Muscala or small with Lu Dort but elected neither option.

Speaking of Muscala – what’s the deal with Donovan not using him? This is the player Sam Presti flew to Minnesota to sign on the opening night of the Free Agency Moratorium so why is he constantly getting CD DNP’s (coach decision – did not play)?

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‘In the last eight games, Muscala has appeared twice — for a lengthy 21:13 versus the Lakers and a measly 4:25 in garbage time versus the Blazers in the blowout loss.  Perhaps with December 15th looming the team is electing not to play him so Sam Presti can move him at that point (free agents signed this summer can’t be moved until December 15th).

Another oddity is the team electing to have the G-League OKC Blue guys on the bench but then not inserting them to play or play very much. Notably, when a two-way player like Devon Hall and Lu Dort are dressed regardless of whether they play or not their presence on the bench counts towards the 45 games they are legally allowed to play via the two-way contract.

For example, in the prior game against the Pacers, Dort who was dressed but never entered the match. Since he was dressed and on the bench that counts as one of his 45 appearances. Likewise, Dort and Hall played for seven and four minutes respectively versus the Wolves and that will also count toward their 45 game allotment.

Donovan’s rotations and minute distribution have always been a mystery to this narrator. However, not using Dort for pretty much the entire game but then putting him in the game at clutch time is even more mind boggling. If he recognizes how great Dort is then why not utilize him earlier and for an extended run?

Bottom line – the Burton mystery altercation, Muscala CD DNP’s and two-way players are all part and parcel of the strange Billy D substitution and vaudeville hook routine so we’ll just have to stay tuned for what he does next.

A few other facts:

• Five OKC Thunder players scored 20 points or more in the game including Schroder and all the starters except Nader.  That accomplishment hasn’t occurred since the inaugural season (2008-09).
• Chris Paul’s 30 point effort was the first time he reached that benchmark with the OKC Thunder.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 29 points were the most he’s scored this season. His previous high in an OKC Thunder uniform came on October 25th versus the Wizards.
• It was also SGA’s best shooting performance (61.5 percent) since the he shot 64.3 percent on November 5th versus the Magic. It also snapped a four-game cold shooting streak where the sophomore reached 40.0 percent once.
• The 40 free throw attempts by the OKC Thunder were the second most they’ve taken in a match this season (41 versus the 76ers)
• With the win, the OKC Thunder moves up to ninth on the ladder a game back of the Wolves who sit in the last playoff seed.
• OKC has a one-game edge over the Kings, Spurs and the Blazers.

Next up, the OKC Thunder begin a four-game road trip starting in Portland on Sunday evening. The Blazers lost yet another player to injury as Rodney Hood suffered a ruptured Achilles in the game Friday.