OKC Thunder get hammered by the Miami Heat: 3 takeaways

This team needs to get into transition more.

The Thunder did not have a great deal of luck getting out in transition but when they did they looked incredibly hard to stop. In the first period, Bazley ran the floor hard, taking on two Miami defenders including Jimmy Butler, beating them both for the easy dunk.

Then in the second SGA had two transition buckets. The first he was impossible to stop, beating defenders down the court with his typical burst of speed and getting the relatively easy basket on a Bazley assist. The second was just an incredible transition move where no one could get a handle on him and he got the easy bucket just prior to halftime.

Early in the third period, Hamidou Diallo beat most of the Heat down the floor, taking the ball directly at Bam Adebayo, causing the Heat big man to foul him. While this does not seem like much, the Thunder only had nine free-throw attempts in the first three quarters. Getting into transition makes things happen.

Against a half-court defense of the Miami Heat, which is one of the best in the NBA, the Thunder had very few answers. They were suffocated, to put it mildly. This team will learn from the experience but it is not the last time that they will lose by a big margin this season.