OKC Thunder: Defense was theme following day 2 of practice
Day two of the OKC Thunder media sessions featured Lu Dort, Steven Adams, and Billy Donovan talking defense.
On their second day of practice in Orlando, the OKC Thunder had one thing and one thing only in mind. Defense. After the session, Steven Adams, Luguentz Dort, and head coach Billy Donovan spoke to the media. Each of them stuck to the theme of the day.
Dort was up first and compared the Orlando bubble to what he’s been through in the past with AAU camps since the focus is solely on basketball. The newly signed guard-forward acknowledged this experience is at a higher level though.
Having youth on his side also alleviated his worries about being in this situation during a pandemic as he told the virtual audience:
“I feel like its just basketball at the end of the day. Yeah, it’s different because we’re in the bubble but at the end of the day it’s just basketball.”
Donovan hasn’t committed to keeping Dort in the starting lineup. There are a few reasons why the coach is taking that position. Firstly, he might be leaving the option open to return Terrance Ferguson to the starting rotation. Or, Donovan might want to leave the door open for Andre Roberson to start.
However, the likeliest scenario is Donovan simply wants to see how each of the players looks and what they’ve done during the hiatus. That’s a sign he’s learned from his prior mistakes. Last summer he committed to giving that starting spot to Terrance Ferguson. While it seemed like the correct decision at the time, perhaps it allowed TFerg to lose some aggression knowing the spot was his.
OKC Thunder focused on defense
As for Dort who previously noted how helpful Roberson was in terms of helping him understand defensive schemes he shed further light on the situation Saturday. Turns out ARob is a player who the Arizona alum grew up watching as a fan of the Thunder.
He called Dre’s return ‘big for the team’ and said he’s happy to be able to share the court with Roberson’ Although they’ll all be fighting for the starting spot the fact they are supportive of each other is more a factor of the team camaraderie. That and it’s also extremely unlikely Donovan won’t start Dort — he won the starting role and the team performed well when he did.
Billy Donovan noted the OKC Thunder has a ton of fine-tuning to do. On the second day of practice, he also conceded the team looked sloppier on day two than they had the first day which he expected given how long the club has been off the court.
Donovan is encouraged by Andre Roberson and what he’s done through the initial stages. The biggest test may already have been passed since he was able to participate on consecutive days which isn’t something he was able to do in the preseason. Still, the coach wasn’t willing to commit to whether he’ll play when games resume.
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Steven Adams as per usual, offered levity stating he brought a guitar and a couple of batches of lasagna with him to the bubble.
The big man also noted with the absence of fan noise he expects the team will get in trouble a lot more in film sessions. Adams said sometimes you can claim you called out a defensive coverage when you might not of, but without fans, the coaches will hear everything on the film.
Like Donovan, the Big Kiwi said the OKC Thunder primary emphasis will be on defense where they’ll try to impose themselves on the competition with the season resumes.
Notably, the Thunder ranked ninth defensively when the season was put on hold, and in the few games, the club played in March ranked sixth. Clearly, the squad recognizes defense will be the key to winning and intends to make sure they are ready to excel on that end of the hardwood.
It’s a good strategy because the Thunder has so many playmakers their offense will return organically as the rust wears off. Having the defense functioning at it’s potential is far more important especially early in the process.