The condensed schedule this season prevented NBA teams from having a true preseason, but the Thunder is using this week-long stretch without a game as its own version of training camp.
Head Coach Scott Brooks’ club did more scrimmaging today, including three games of five-on-five with eight minute quarters and some four-on-four games as well. This time between the first and second rounds has been a great opportunity for Thunder players to work on both growing individually and as a team moving forward.
“It was a great day,” Brooks said. “The guys really competed and they were spent after practice, and that’s what we wanted. We wanted today to be a really tough, physical practice and it was. They were good for an hour and a half and they gave everything they had. They challenged each other like they always do. It was much more physical than yesterday’s practice, but that was by design.”
When the Thunder finished its 4-0 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Round 1, it knew that it might have almost a week before playing either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers in Round 2. With the Lakers now leading the series 3-2 and a Thursday matchup in Denver on the docket, the Thunder knows the earliest in might play its Round 2 game is this weekend at Chesapeake Energy Arena. As a result, the Thunder has taken advantage of this week to get in some tough practices to stay sharp.
“We haven’t had much time for practice this year and we have had two really good practices,” Collison said. “With the schedule, it’s really unique to have six, seven days off. We’re making the most of it. Getting good practice in but also being able to mix in recovery days so you don’t feel like you’re pushing too hard and worrying about losing your legs.”
Not knowing its next opponent might even be a blessing in disguise for the Thunder, because it has allowed the team to focus only on itself and what it can control. That means looking at film from the Dallas, making adjustments= and trying to replicate what the team did well. Following with the Thunder’s mantra, players like Serge Ibaka focused on defense primarily, with a healthy focus on the offensive end and individual skills too.
“As a team we’re trying to work on our defense first of all,” Ibaka said. “That is something that is number one for us. Then we’re trying to work on our offense to make the extra passes so we get some easy stuff and how we space (the floor).”
One of the core tenets of the Thunder organization is player development, so in addition to forging its identity as a team, the Thunder players have also used this practice time to hone their games on an individual level. Every player works on his free throws, Ibaka on his post-up moves and jumper, and all the other players on this young Thunder roster have used the time to improve their games. Even veterans like Collison and Nazr Mohammed believe that this stretch of days with intense practices has been vital to individual and team development.
“Not just for the young guys, I think for all of us,” Collison said. “Nazr was just saying how he wants to get more (practice) time. In the Dallas series he didn’t get a lot of minutes and he wanted time to get up and down and play live. I think that’s good for him, I think it’s good for me. I didn’t get a lot of shots in the Dallas series, so it’s good to come into practice and try to be aggressive. I think all of us in a practice setting, we can all get a lot out of it.”