HOUSTON – After a long, five-day hiatus, Thunder fans finally get to see their squad back in action.
With four straight days of practice and a travel day to Houston, Head Coach Scott Brooks’ team had an excellent chance to grow as a unit and this morning it shootaround, it turned its attention to the Rockets. As one of the premier fast break, layups and three-point shooting teams, the Rockets will challenge its opponents on a variety of fronts. From the attacking nature of its guards to the way its wings run the floor, the Rockets try to turn every opponent make or miss into a transition bucket.
For the Thunder to be successful, it has to sprint back down the floor, not just staying level with the ball or with their man, but getting all the way into position to set up its five-man defensive shell.
“You have to slow them down,” Brooks said. “They’re one of the fastest teams in the league in transition. Once that shot goes up they run to the corners and they run the lane.”
“We have to stop the paint too,” Brooks continued. “They not only make 12 threes a game, they score a lot of points in the paint and get to the free throw line. We have to defend them without fouling.”
Once it slows down the Rockets and forces them to play in the half-court, the Thunder’s next challenge begins. Preventing straight-line drives by being aggressive in the pick-and-roll is a crucial task tonight. Preventing ball-handlers from splitting double-teams or dropping off easy passes into the middle of the lane that create advantage situations.
As the Rockets try to drive and dish and find three-point shooters along the wings or layups at the rim, the Thunder has to slide over in a timely fashion in help defense and then close out on shooters to make sure every shot is contested. The goal tonight, as it is most evenings, is to force Houston into taking contested mid-range shots as opposed to corner three-pointers or layups around the rim.
“We have to play hard on both ends,” forward Kevin Durant said. “They’re really good in the paint and shooting threes, so we have to be on point, making second and third efforts.”
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Practices, Shootarounds are Essential to Growth
The four straight days of practices is the longest stretch the Thunder has had all regular season to get together as a unit to develop the chemistry, communication and timing that is important to executing on both sides of the ball. One area where the Thunder wants to continue to improve as a unit is the way it scores, by taking care of the basketball, moving it from side to side and putting defenses in precarious situations, where they either have to foul or give up an uncontested shot. During this week of practice, Brooks and his staff have worked with the players on just that.
“I like how we’re competing in practices against each other,” Durant said. “That’s always good. We’re going through situations and coach is making us play off of our instincts. That’s how we’re going to get better.”
Prior to tonight’s contest, the Thunder transferred over some of those lessons into how it will try to attack the Rockets. Shootarounds are an important tool for the coaching staff not just for gameday preparation against a specific opponent, but also for individual growth and team-wide development. The dividends of all the work in practice and shootaround might not show itself immediately, but it will be more noticeable as the season goes along.
“It’s coming in here, going over the game plan, getting shots up and going over our game plan as an offense,” Durant said. “It’s important.”
Broadcast Information
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CT
Television: TNT
Radio: Thunder Radio Network, WWLS the Sports Animal