OKC Thunder get hammered by the Miami Heat: 3 takeaways

Effort is contagious

The Thunder have no shortage of effort players on their roster. Kendrich Williams is playing in a similar style to Dort last season where he thinks that every play is going to be his last in the NBA. When he is on the court there is a definite raising of the intensity level.

However, it all starts with Dort. His defense is effort-based and non-stop. As a result, the rest of his teammates all do not want to let the sophomore down and defend at a higher level as well. He is also always cutting on offense or driving to the hoop if he does not have a good 3-point shot.

On the second unit, Diallo is always working hard, either cutting to the hoop or hustling to outjump opposing big men to get the putback. He is without a shadow of a doubt the leader of the second unit and this was shown by a Justin Jackson play just prior to the second half ending.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1346263229425721345?s=20

Mike Muscala had just hit a three and was fouled while taking the shot. After hitting the free throw to complete the four-point play the Heat inbounded the ball. Jackson stole the ball off the pass and hit the floater. This was straight out of the Diallo playbook and meant the Thunder had scored six points in five seconds.

The flow-on effect was the Thunder went into the halftime break down 14 points, 63-49, rather than 63-43. It fuelled their third-quarter surge before the Heat took total control of the game. However, every effort play is seen by the coaching staff and teammates.