OKC Thunder: 3 keys to rebounding versus Clippers
Clippers guard Paul George (13). Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
OKC Thunder key no. 2 – Perimeter defense
One thing the Thunder did very well in the game Friday was run the Clippers off the line. The Clippers own the best perimeter efficiency in the association posting a remarkable 43.3 percent efficiency.
Seven Clippers players are shooting over 40 percent:
- Paul George: 50 percent on 7.7 attempts
- Marcus Morris Sr.: 47.4 percent on 4.8 attempts
- Nicolas Batum: 47.1 percent on 4.4 attempts
- Luke Kennard: 46.4 percent on 3.5 attempts
- Patrick Beverley: 43.1 percent on 4.3 attempts
- Amir Coffey: 42.9 percent on 0.6 attempts
- Kawhi Leonard: 41.5 percent on 4.7 attempts
And that doesn’t even include two historical good 3-point shooters (Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka).
On Friday, the Thunder did a great job by holding the Clippers to 30.3 percent from deep allowing only ten successful 3-pointers which is also well below their average 15.1 per game.
The other caveat to be careful of is while the Thunder must defend the perimeter they also need to be dialed in to rotate and stop easy drives to the paint.