The Coach is the key:
Okay, so this is a bit of a cheat but the choices Billy Donovan makes in his substitutions is key in this match. Credit to the bench boss for a move he made in Game 6 when the trio of SGA, Lu Dort, and Darius Bazley were all on the court and were the lineup responsible for pulling the Thunder back in the match.
| Rk | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | PTS | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | L (-15) | 17:15 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 9 | -4 | |
| 2 | 2 | L (-13) | 13:36 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -20 | |
| 3 | 3 | W (+12) | 13:27 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | +5 | |
| 4 | 4 | W (+3) | 18:40 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | +9 | |
| 5 | 5 | L (-34) | 25:56 | 2 | 10 | .200 | 2 | 7 | .286 | 4 | 1.000 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 10 | -7 |
| 6 | 6 | W (+4) | 22:03 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 6 | .833 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 8 | +7 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2020.
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That took guts in an elimination game and Billy D needs to manage this game with that same confidence in his youthful core.
I could go on a rant why Darius Bazley isn’t getting enough minutes but the fact Donovan has gone to him more as the series has played out is encouraging.
Bazley gets minutes he has a positive impact. Even in the Game 6 loss, while the Thunder weren’t scoring he scored 10 of the 80 points accumulated. He’s a great rebounder and he’s been one of the more consistent perimeter shooters for OKC.
The bottom line is Billy Donovan is playing with house money. His team is the underdog and the future is truly where the focus is. Getting his trio of that future minutes in a closeout game will pay dividends in the future.
And if they happen to win the match too – Thunder Nation will happily accept that too!