Oklahoma City, OK – The Thunder open up the second part of the season after the Allstar break with a home back to back with the Clippers up first.
The last time these two teams met the Clippers made things very uncomfortable for the Thunder and gave the Thunder a preview of what playoff basketball would look like. They really packed the paint and made it very tough for the Thunder to get to their bread and butter which is getting into the paint and using driving lanes to create good looks. If the Thunder wanted to win they would have to make some much needed changes and come out with really good energy.
That they did. They came out blazing on both ends. Beating the Clippers defense up the floor not letting them set up in ht paint. However, that was short lived as the Clippers slowed things down early and did a great job of getting to their spots. It was clear early on that this was the making for a really good game.
Both teams went back and forth getting whatever they wanted and it seemed like whichever team was able to generate multiple stops in a row would have control of this game.
That was the Thunder.
They continued to beat the Clipper’s defense up the floor so they couldn’t set up their defense with an increased pace and the Clippers didn’t really adjust. They also increased their physicality and that really threw the Clippers off and they never really punched back. That led to the Thunder building a lead that got to as much as 22 and got out of the game with a 129-107 victory.
Here are the reasons for the win
Shooting
The Thunder came into the game shooting lights out. Taking every shot the Clippers gave them and made them pay for trying to pack the paint. It was very evident early on that the Clippers wanted to deter the Thunder from getting into the paint and make them become a shooting team.
The Thunder made them pay in a big way shooting 55.6% from the floor and 48.6% from three hitting 17 of them.
It is going to be key for the Thunder to continue to be a good shooting team as teams try and take the paint away from them. Not just hitting the first open three or jumper they get but really working the ball around to get the best look. Taking the first one isn’t really making a defense work and isn’t always the best shot. The way the Thunder got their looks tonight was mostly doing that and due to moving the ball to get the best look.
“That’s something that every good aspiring basketball player has to deal with” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked about knowing when to take open shots. “It’s a shot you can make. It’s a shot that the defense is giving you and there’s a balance to find. I think that’s the trickiest thing…there’s times in the game where it’s momentum, it’s how they’re being guarded our last couple of possessions when the shot is a good one to shoot and there are times when we haven’t gotten anything and it’s not a good one to shoot. But finding that balance is a learning experience and I think every good player or great player has to go through it but once you get that it’s pretty smooth sailing.” Shai continued.
Pace
The same way it was important for the Thunder to take good shots as the Clippers packed the paint, it was equally as important for them to play with a faster pace.
“We want to be a team that’s fast, up the floor and more importantly fast in our actions in the half court. That’s really important every night.” Mark Daigneault when asked about the faster pace and beating the Clippers defense up the floor.
“It’s also an essential skill against good defenses and switchable defenses and mutli-position defenders like this team has. It’s kind of life or death against this team [Clippers] and I thought we did a nice job of that tonight. We had a couple of possessions tonight where we got stalled but other than that we were pretty good” Daigneault told BSO.
They did a really good job increasing the pace and beating the Clipper defense up the floor. Not letting them set up their defense to pack the paint was really key. Whether it was on a miss or make, the Thunder pushed the pace to at the very least try and beat the Clippers up the floor and create an imbalance. Also getting out in the fast break was going to be very important and they did a great job doing that leading to 30 points in the fast break.
Physicality
It was clear early on that the Thunder were going to have to play with more physicality than what they started the game with. The Clippers were getting to their spots at will and everything was easy for them.
The Thunder did a great job of increasing the physicality after the first quarter and it really threw the Clippers off. It was if they weren’t expecting it and when they did it was like they had no intentions on doing anything about it.
The best thing about the physicality for the Thunder was they didn’t play out of character to play more physical. It wasn’t them being dirty. It It was just them doing what was necessary to win the game.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who had another typical game with 31 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, and Chet Holmgren were all monsters defensively and also had good games offensively with JDub putting up 18 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, Lu with 19 points and 3 rebounds, and Chet adding 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Josh Giddey was pretty solid also chipping in 12 points and 5 rebounds.
The Thunder will look to sweep the back to back when the welcome the Wizards to town Friday night.
