OKC Thunder OT win 3 takeaways: Dortfense rules – Free Bazley

Dennis Schroder – remember what got the Thunder here

Look I’m thrilled he’s back. Delighted he remembered that speed kills as he whizzed by Rockets defenders on Saturday like they were in quicksand. But….. to take TEN 3-point shots when your shot clearly isn’t falling and doing so after dribbling the ball in place and the offense grows stagnant isn’t going to cut it.

I lost count of the number of times there were Thunder players on the wings standing wide open for unimpeded shots and he never even looked at them.

There was a point in Schroder’s career where I could tell you with near 100 percent certainty when he would shoot and when he would:

a) consider passing it or
b) actually pass the ball.

In fact, it was only this season where that dynamic shifted now that he was satisfied with his role and getting to eat on a regular basis.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve loved how Schroder accepted and excelled in his new role but the playoffs are not the time to take a step back. Nor is it time to force up shots particularly when teammates are wide open.

Hopefully, the film session will serve as a reminder to the German master of the point and get him working in concert with the unit on the court so he can generate better-shot opportunities for both himself and his teammates. To that end, shot selection is key for Dennis too.

He shot 10 of 23 which isn’t terrible considering he shot 2 of 10 from deep. Therefore he shot 8 of 13 from mid-range or at the basket. I’m not a mathemetician but even I can decipher the 61.5 percent efficiency holds a huge advantage over the perimeter 20 percent efficiency.  He also turned the ball over three times versus his five assists which aren’t ideal particularly when Donovan has put such an onus on taking care of the ball.