Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP case and 3 other takeaways from Thunder's win vs Suns

Offsetting the lack of rebounds

Jusuf Nurkic, the Suns’ starting center, recorded a season-high 31 rebounds, the most by any player this season. Unshockingly, the Thunder was outrebounded 41-50. 

Players like Nurkic, who stands at seven- feet tall and weighs in at around 290 pounds, will always be a tough matchup for the Thunder, who, even with the return of Mike Muscala, lack the length and width to match up. 

Despite this, Oklahoma City continues to scrape out wins against bigger, heftier teams through a combination of defensive pressure, transition offense, and a slew of other factors that capitalize on their quickness and youthful legs. 

"A lot of nights we lose the rebounding battle. And as long as the benefit continues to outweigh the cost, we're going to continue to accept the trade offs. We're not going to be a perfect team."

- Mark Daigneault

This formula works for the Thunder as it maintains their versatility and allows them to play the way they want to play on both offense and defense. 

Besides, their unrelenting driving game allowed them to score 54 points in the paint, 10 more than what the Suns wrapped with, and they have two traditional bigs in their lineup, mind you.

As Daigneualt noted, there's "more to the game than just rebounding," and it seems the Thunder have managed to prove this on a nightly basis through 60 games played in 2023-24.