“Today was a work day,” Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said as he stepped from the practice floor to the media area at the INTEGRIS Thunder Development Center. “We came in and felt like a training camp practice. It was one of those days where we punched in the clock and got after it.”
Perkins was dripping with sweat as he addressed the media after a physical Thunder practice that featured a scrimmage and a lot of extra individual and position work after the session ended. The bigs were working on post moves with assistant coaches Mark Bryant and Mike Terpstra while the wings were with assistants Rex Kalamian and Darko Rajakovic, working on defensive closeouts and immediately catching and attacking on offense.
Head Coach Scott Brooks had the practice facility humming on Monday after the Thunder’s tough loss on the road to the Dallas Mavericks. Kevin Durant participated in practice, which helped Brooks’ squad return to more of a semblance of its typical lineups, but it was also a chance to work on some integral aspects of the game. One area in particular is the way the Thunder executes down the stretch on both ends of the floor.
“There were a few things that we wanted to focus on today,” Brooks said. “One was to establish what we need to do better throughout the game, and not just late in games. Everything we’ve talked about, those things are correctable.”
“Most of the time it’s been our defense,” Perkins said. “We can get better on the offensive end and I feel like we will. We need to get back to our rule of trying to hold teams under 100 points. It’s doesn’t start late in the game, it starts throughout the game from the first quarter.”
Ibaka Rebounding a Plus for OKC
Most of what the Thunder wants to do for all 48 minutes is to simply play with force. How that translates on the floor is different for each player, but Brooks and his staff are seeing it more and more as the season goes along. Serge Ibaka has done an excellent job all around, scoring 19 points per game over the last four contests, but more importantly, he’s registered seven or more rebounds in the last six games, including 24 in the last two contests combined.
“Serge has done a great job of rebounding the ball with two hands,” Brooks said. “When there is a loose ball, it’s not a 50-50 ball, it’s our ball… We have to continue to have that mentality. That’s the mentality our fans are proud of, leaving everything on the floor.”
“I love it out of Serge,” Perkins said. “Most of the time they have a smaller guy on him, so Serge has a great advantage on the offensive end as far as getting offensive rebounds. He’s been defensive rebounding better too. We like the energy that he’s bringing. He can do that at a high level.”
Jones Playing with More Force
Another young player who has impressed lately has been Perry Jones, the third-year forward who has been thrust into the starting lineup due to the injury to Kevin Durant. Throughout the season, the Thunder coaching staff has been searching for both consistency and assertiveness out of Jones, and gradually those traits are coming to the forefront in his game.
Over the last three contests, Jones has shot 12-for-23 from the field, scoring ten points per game. He’s caught the ball on the wing and made quicker decisions, in addition to using his size, length and athleticism to take advantage of mismatches. Against Dallas, Jones repeatedly went to the block against Monta Ellis, efficiently scoring and giving the Thunder a different dynamic.
“Those are the things that we want him to continue to do,” Brooks said. “There will be another adjustment when (Durant) comes back, but you still have to have that aggressive mindset on both ends of the floor. The role is going to change and the minutes are going to fluctuate, but you still have to compete while you’re out there. Those are encouraging things we’ve had out of Perry.”
“We need that out of Perry,” Perkins said. “He can give it to us. Every night he has an advantage with his size and athleticism. We just need to get it out of him every night.”