OKC Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander career night tops 3 takeaways
Identity is strong and roles are defined:
The third quarter and end of game of this game in particular punctuated just how clearly the OKC Thunder understands their identity and individual roles.
One particular play section of the game stood out. It started on an offensive set with the ball zipping all over the court and ended in a Terrance Ferguson easy jam (part of the play is shown in the video above). Almost everyone on the floor touched the ball and it was pretty basketball.
They immediately followed it up with a close to perfection defensive stand that a coach could use to teach how to play a defensive set. Adams forced Reid into taking an uncomfortable shot and SGA (shocker) grabbed the rebound. Those few minutes demonstrated why this OKC Thunder team is playing some of the best ball among their peers and why they are solidly on the playoff ladder.
In spite of the 15 consecutive points, Naz Reid delivered to pull the Wolves within eight once again the Thunder identity and role play kicked in. Chris Paul took over quarterbacking the offense to ensure they got solid sets and great shot opportunities.
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Each of his teammates made themselves available through floor spacing and cuts and passed the ball immediately if Minny closed on the ball recipient. OKC locked down defensively to take away the last glimmer of hope the Wolves had.
Case in point, when Reid hit another 3-pointer at 10:23 to cut the lead to eight (94-86), Billy Donovan called a timeout. The clutch time crew checked into the game and while they didn’t stop the Wolves from scoring they limited them to 18 points and almost doubled their eight point lead (15 points) scoring 23 additional points through to game end to net the easy win.
Scanning the young teams in the NBA like the Bulls, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Hornets, Knicks, Magic, Pelicans Suns, and Wolves arguably only Memphis and New Orleans has established an identity with role definition ironed out.
That the Thunder have accomplished this in half a season speaks to the quality of this iteration of the team and just how perfectly suited the individuals are within the framework. That in itself is a major accomplishment.
Next. Thunder blast Wolves via spectacular individual efforts – grades. dark
Next up for the OKC Thunder, they’ll finish the season series versus the Toronto Raptors as they play host to the team from the 6ix on Wednesday evening.