OKC Thunder: Harden adjusted in Game 4 but Dort dominated when it mattered most

With five fouls and a full quarter to play OKC Thunder rookie, Lu Dort played with a veteran’s poise shutting down Harden when it mattered most.

Adjustments are the name of the game in the playoffs. So, to think James Harden wouldn’t review the film and figure out some ways to counter the killer defense of OKC Thunder guard Luguentz Dort would be naive. In Game 4, the leading scorer in the association appeared to have figured out a few things about the Canadian.

To start the match Harden was much more effective and seemed to have rediscovered his scoring touch connecting on three 3-pointers and hit six in total. His final stat line reads like a typical Harden match with 32 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals.

He shot decently from the field with 11 of 25 or 44 percent and 6 of 15 or 40 percent from deep. The splits on his scoring versus Dort were 5 of 13 from the field, 4 of 9 from deep, and shot five free throws connecting on four. That’s 12 points from deep, four at the line and two inside the arc.

Comparatively, Dort was more effective in his two prior outings limiting the Beard to 3 of 21 from the field and 2 of 16 from deep cumulatively for a total on 18 points or nine in each contest.:

• August 20th: 1 of 7 from the field, 1 of 7 from deep and 6 of 6 at the line for nine points.
• August 22nd: 2 of 14 from the field, 1 of 9 from deep and 4 of 4 at the line for nine points.

OKC Thunder Game 4 win was intrinsically tied to Dort’s clutch time defense

Game 4 wasn’t the most efficient Harden has shot the ball but he doubled his scoring output versus Dort. As Harden’s primary defender once again, Luguentz Dort – – previously cited as the Harden Whisperer on T.I definitely was less effective.

In this match, Dort had to play most of the fourth quarter with five fouls and still was only responsible for a little more than half of Harden’s points (18). The Arizona State guard picked up the fifth foul at 11:37 of the fourth and went foul-free the remainder of the match. Coach Billy Donovan sat him, after the fifth foul for approximately two minutes, reinserting him at 9:47 of the frame.

From this point until the end of the game Harden shot 1 of 4 from deep, 2 of 3 from the mid-range. The wily shooter didn’t get to the charity stripe and was held scoreless for most of the fourth quarter. His teammates were on fire to start the second half but went ice cold in the final frame shooting just 21 percent.

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In contrast to Harden, Dort hit a 3-pointer, added three rebounds, and forced Harden into two turnovers all while he avoided picking up his sixth foul. Meanwhile, the OKC Thunder went on to do what they do in clutch time – WIN!

Harden is too talented for anyone to expert Lu Dort to lock him down every game, but arguably this contest was his most impressive effort given those fouls. It’s seldom a rookie can maintain the composure necessary to avoid drawing that sixth foul especially against a foul-baiter like Harden.

Moving forward to this evening the OKC Thunder is back in action playing the fifth match of the series. As the clubs battle to capture the advantage in the series the big question won’t be who’ll win the Arizona State alumni battle. Rather, it’s how Billy Donovan will adapt his defensive scheme to stop another threat.

That’s because former beloved OKC Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook is expected to make his series debut. Who’ll guard Russ and how his presence affects the pace and spacing of the Rockets are questions we’ll discover at 5:30 p.m. CT.

At least with Lu the Great guarding James Harden, that’s one matchup the team should feel confident about as the Thunder try to take Game 5 and live up to the analysts’ predictions that OKC was the underdog squad no one wanted to play.