The Thunder used a fourth quarter rally to burst past the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, and with Thanksgiving Day sandwiched in between, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club helps fans celebrate the national holiday again with a battle against the Detroit Pistons tonight.
With Kevin Durant back in the lineup the Thunder has started to take flight, having won the past three games and playing with a verve on both ends of the floor.
"We're trying to keep building," Durant said. "We've done a good job these last few games of staying connected, fighting throuhg adversity and staying together at all times. That's what the good teams do."
At Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder will square up against point guard Reggie Jackson and center Andre Drummond, a talented combination of players who can test a team’s defense. In the NBA, teams run pick-and-roll actions upwards of 60 times per game, and it is in those situations that the Thunder’s communication must be precise and accurate.
For guards like Russell Westbrook and Dion Waiters who are squared up to opposing guards, being able to hear the call from big men, process it and execute the coverage within a split second can be the difference between a stop and an opponent score.
“It’s huge because as a guard, you know the screen is coming. In this league, you can’t take a look back, not one time, on a good guard, because he’s gone,” Waiters explained. “It’s up to us to have that trust where we don’t have to look over our shoulder to see where the screen is coming, and we can hear the big call it out and we can send it which way we want to send it.”
Another huge factor to watch in this game will be rebounding, as the Pistons come in averaging the most total rebounds and the most offensive rebounds per 48 minutes. The Thunder isn’t far behind, however, ranking second in both categories. Keeping Drummond in particular away from the offensive glass to prevent second chance points will be huge – he’s averaging 17.8 rebounds, including 5.9 on offense, so far this season.
"Andre Drummond is a load down there on the boards. He's really good at getting hands on a lot of basketballs and tipping it out and tipping it to himself," He's dominant on the glass like you have dominant scorers and dominant passers. He's a dominant rebounder."
"We have to do it as a group to get him off the glass," Durant continued. "They spread you out, so it's tough to do that. It forces a lot of one-on-one box-outs, and that's where he's good. It's like a dominant defensive lineman, you have to double him sometimes on the glass."
Staying disciplined on the defensive end as it has done over the past few games can help the Thunder prevent Detroit from getting those second chances. Staying solid has the effect of forcing opponents into turnovers or contested, difficult shots. Defenders are then also in place appropriately to put bodies in front of opponents and seal off possession-ending rebounds.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Broadcast Information
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network