Broadcast Information
- Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
- Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
- Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
The Thunder is all about constant improvement, and those gradual and incremental differences make a huge impact as the season goes along. One of the brightest, most noticeable up-ticks has come from Steven Adams, who is now shooting 81.6 percent from the free throw line this year, up from his 55.1 percent career average prior to this season.
On Wednesday morning before the Thunder’s game against the Washington Wizards, Adams let the secret of his success slip – it’s his work with assistant coach Darko Rajakovic. The Serbian national coached professionally in Europe before being hired to coach the Thunder’s D-League team for two seasons before joining the Thunder coaching staff in 2014. Rajakovic’s training style to help Adams improve his free throw shooting has been, well, unorthodox.
“He’ll come and punch me in the stomach and slap me on the arm really hard, and say, ‘Make a free throw.’” Adams recalled.
Causing a bit of physical and mental distress in between free throws has helped Adams simulate real game situations, but the improvement can also be attributed to tucking in his elbow and simply building the correct muscle memory through repetition.
“(Rajakovic) has a lot of patience, which is huge for me,” Adams quipped. “It’s working out well.”
Massive leaps forward, like Adams’ free throw shooting, are rare, but the Thunder can make those incremental steps each night it takes the floor. That’s the plan against the Wizards tonight, a team that Head Coach Billy Donovan believes will be a tough challenge on both ends of the floor.
“They’re terrific in the backcourt with (Bradley) Beal and (John) Wall and then Otto Porter is playing well,” Donovan said. “With (Marcin) Gortat up front and (Markieff) Morris is always a matchup problem.”
“They’re a talented team and an explosive team,” Donovan continued. “They’re a team who can score and defend and create a lot of turnovers. They run a lot of good stuff in terms of getting Beal and Porter coming off screens and a lot of stuff with Wall in middle pick-and-roll.”
Adams noted that the most important part of the defensive effort tonight will be transition defense, making sure to get back and set up to prevent the Wizards from taking advantage of their speed. Washington comes in with the 10th-best mark in the NBA in fast break points, at 14.8 per game.
“This team plays at a fast pace. All five of their guys run. They sprint out. John Wall does a good job of attacking and forcing the extra play, “Adams explained. “The sooner we can get back and set up, the better off we’ll be. We’ll make them play in the half court.”
Washington can defend too, with Marcin Gortat roaming the middle to be the general of the defense and protect the paint. Gortat learned how to play NBA level defense many years ago from now-Thunder assistant coach Mark Bryant, who has also schooled Adams on the fine points of interior defense.
“(Gortat) is smart. He’s very mobile. That’s what makes him hard,” Adams said. “Gortat plays a similar way but in his own style.”
The Wizards are led by Scott Brooks, the former long-time head coach for the Thunder. Brooks helped set the standards for the franchise in its initial years in Oklahoma City, elevating a young roster to three Western Conference Finals appearances and a trip to the NBA Finals. Brooks is respected by the organization and by the players who competed each night for him.