By Nick Gallo | Broadcast Reporter and Digital Editor | okcthunder.com
Halfcourt traps, Disruptive Defense, Energy Fueling Moments and More from Games 1 and 2!
The Drive and Dish is here to answer the questions that might be going through your head during a Thunder game by providing experienced insight, highlighting aspects of the game you might have missed and pulling you behind the curtain with anecdotes, analysis, and stats.
Here’s what you need to know as the Thunder gets ready to head out to New Orleans for Games 3 and 4 of its first round Western Conference playoff series.
Thunder Digs in on D, Springs Out on O
After getting a game of collective playoff experience under its belt on Sunday, the Thunder came out confident and decisive and maintained its tenacity on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes in a 124-92 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 2.
In the first quarter the Thunder built out a double-digit lead behind a 5-for-5 shooting start by Chet Holmgren. While the Pelicans tried to punch the ball down low to Jonas Valanciunas on the block, the Thunder cashed in three-pointers, 10 of them in the first half alone, to take command of the game. Recognizing coverages and reacting to them quickly, the Thunder evaded double teams, zone defenses and all sorts of other strategies to shoot 59 percent from the field and hit 14 total 3s in the game. OKC racked up 25 assists – led by Jalen Williams with seven – while giving up just nine turnovers as all five starters scored in double-figures.
On the other end of the floor the Thunder leaned into defensive habits that have carried the team throughout the past six months – moving their feet, hustling and being in the right position. Those elements allowed OKC to force 18 turnovers, including eight offensive fouls that they drew via charges or illegal screens. OKC scored 22 points off those Pelicans giveaways.
"That's where we hang our hat – defensively,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who drew a big one late in the third quarter and finished with a playoff career-high of 33 points. “These past couple games [we] just tried to give it all we got and execute the game plan."
After the game, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault noted that the team needed to maintain sobriety about the length of a seven-game series and how their shot-making impacted things in Game 2. Going on the road to a hostile environment against a veteran New Orleans team means the Thunder has to get back to zero and zero and focus on playing its brand of basketball again in Game 3.
“Now the challenge is to continue to grow and learn and improve with the series because the Pelicans are going to improve,” said Daigneault. “They're good team that’s going home and they're well-coached. They're going to get better and so we have to continue to get better.”
All About the Invisible Plays
You’ve seen the block by Chet Holmgren and the defensive stop by Cason Wallace inside the final minute of the Thunder’s nail-biting 94-92 win in Game 1 of its first-round playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans. You may have missed a few of the other essential moments on defense throughout the game, the “invisible plays” that added up throughout the night to help OKC come away with the win.
- On the final possession of the first quarter, the Thunder employed a familiar defensive strategy for those who have been dialed into the team this year – a halfcourt trap against the opposing team’s desired ballhandler. In this case it was CJ McCollum who the Thunder forced to give up the ball with under 10 seconds left in the frame. Cason Wallace shadowed him the rest of the possession, forcing Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado to have to make a play on his own, and it didn’t end well for New Orleans.
- In the playoffs, every minute and every possession matters. In the first game, every Thunder player that stepped on the floor gave incredible effort, even if the outcome of every play wasn’t perfect. One of the guys that helped spur things for the Thunder off the bench was Gordon Hayward, who graded out extremely well defensively and helped fuel the win without even taking a shot on offense. In the first half he got right into the fray by racking up a pair of strong defensive rebounds and making a steal in traffic. Throughout the night he hedged out in pick and rolls, showed a presence then recovered quickly back to keep the Pelicans in front. In the late stages of the third quarter he was faced with a one-on-one defensive opportunity and didn’t let Alvarado see any daylight on a drive attempt.
- Game 1 was played inside a 17-point window, with neither team leading by more than 10 points. As a result, the Thunder’s largest run of the game was an 11-0 burst in the third quarter that involved a pair of pure hustle plays by Jalen Williams to fire up himself, his team and the Paycom Center crowd even more than they already were. Williams forced a miss by burly Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas then tied him up on the boards afterward, forcing a jump ball, which the Thunder controlled. That ignited the run, then Williams continued it by drawing an offensive foul shortly thereafter.
Looking Ahead
Games 3 and 4 against the Pelicans will be played on Saturday and Tuesday, both airing on Bally Sports Oklahoma. Both games will also be available on the radio on WWLS 98.1 FM the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network. Follow along on our @okcthunder social accounts and stay here on the Thunder App or okcthunder.com.
