OKC Thunder: Day 3 Training camp notebook, rule changes rule the day

The OKC Thunder continued training camp on Thursday in Oklahoma City and after practice, those of us in the media talked with Darius Bazley, Mark Daigneault, and Isaiah Roby. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on day three of two-a-day practices and their first preseason contest is rapidly approaching. The team will take on the Hornets on Monday in Bricktown.

OKC Thunder training camp notebook, rule changes rule the day

The NBA announced their rule changes today, both will make games more watchable. The first should just be called the James Harden, Luka Doncic, Trae Young rule. No longer can offensive players just leap into a defender playing perfect defense and be rewarded with freebies.

Mark Daigneault pointed out that two clips from the NBA’s teaching video they sent to every team to prepare them for the rule alterations included Lu Dort being on the wrong end of the whistle. This heavily impacts the OKC Thunder as they have one of the most aggressive defenders in the NBA.

The second change from the NBA is that out-of-bound reviews will not be trigger by refs in the final two minutes, saving time and improving the pace of play. I asked Mark Daigneault if this will change the way he uses his one challenge per game, and the answer was a very complex one but boils down to “we are not afraid to use it.” Coach Daigneault had the coach’s challenge with him in the G-League so he understands the advantage better than most.

He laid out a ton of data points and proves the team view’s the challenge as a way to get an edge. While he calls this a “significant” change, he also says only half of any team’s games will be down to the wire that warrants saving the challenge. If you save the challenge every time you will “win about five or six a season and walk away with 41 in your back pocket in the summertime.”

The head ball coach also offered an injury update. Tre Mann, after leaving Wednesday morning’s session early with groin soreness, was back on Thursday. Derrick Favors, who was out of town getting knee treatment, flew back in time to practice Wednesday Night and also took part in Thursday Morning’s practice. Vit Krejci, who practiced in the Tuesday Morning and Evening sessions, has not practiced since due to ACL recovery. The rookie is a year and less than a week removed from tearing his ACL.

Isaiah Roby, as Josh Giddey pointed out yesterday, mentioned rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is “shooting the ball really well.” this is a skill set that can take JRE’s NBA career to the next level as a small-ball five.

Darius Bazley touched on his leadership role saying he feels responsible to step into that role, doing the right things and showing the new guys “the way things are done around here.”

Tomorrow after practice, Mark Daigneault and his staff will announce the top ten songs on the OKC Thunder practice playlist. Daigneault also told the media his favorite rap song, Lil Wayne’s Right above it.