3 Takeaways: A Night where nothing went right for the OKC Thunder

The OKC Thunder starters had jet lag.

At least, I hope that to be true. The fact of the matter is the starters came out flat. They were lackadaisical in their efforts and unintentional in their execution.

From the first possession in the game, Chet Holmgren corralled the jump ball, and Josh Giddey floated an outlet pass over the heads of the defense… and Holmgren’s head, too.

Okay, it careened off his hands, but the ball was out of reach; that was the point. That quickly became a theme for the rest of the evening.

The Kings scored the first two buckets and never surrendered the lead again. They led by 14 at the end of the 1st quarter, and while the Thunder got close, they could never have a complete chance to make it a game.

Holmgren was far from alone. Giddey had numerous turnovers, Jalen Williams had lapses in defensive efforts, Dort took controversial shots, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played too passively.

Thankfully, however, that latter of those players in the starting lineup could shake out of his funk and turn it on for the remainder of the game.