Broadcast Information
- Tip-off: 6:00 p.m. CT
- Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
- Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
DALLAS – A player may watch from the bench for weeks at a time, keeping himself sharp with late-night workouts or with early sessions before games. Others, even those who are in the rotation, spend time with coaches on film study and scouting reports to be ready to play a different role on a given night or to deal with a specific opponent and situation.
In the NBA, a moment, your moment, can pass by in an instant. Like an infielder in a crouch, hands low, knees bent and with an eye on the ball, Thunder players must be persistently ready for the moment when the ball gets hit their way. On Friday in Phoenix, it was Dennis Schröder who was vaulted into the starting lineup, Raymond Felton plucked off the bench for ballhandling duties and Abdel Nader who was needed for a remarkable 33 minutes of action after playing just 53 all season before then.
“Every guy on this team is very, very important and every role is needed,” said leader and point guard Russell Westbrook.
With uncertainty about the status of Paul George, who missed the Suns game but is listed as probably against the Dallas Mavericks, as well as whether Terrance Ferguson or Alex Abrines will play due to illness, the Thunder will need that same mentality. Against the Suns, the Thunder’s defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, the team rebounded 86 percent of Phoenix’s missed shots (the nightly goal is 75-80 percent) and got contributions from up and down the roster. In the Thunder’s mind however, that game is long gone. It’s all about dealing with Dallas, a feisty, crafty team whom the Thunder must face twice on back-to-back nights.
“We need to move on and concentrate on Dallas,” point guard Dennis Schröder stated firmly after the Thunder 118-102 win in Phoenix.
In order to get a win on the road against a Mavericks team that is 16-18 on the season but an incredible 14-3 in Dallas, the Thunder will have to bring its defense along with it. Once again in Phoenix the Thunder posted a sub-100 defensive rating, allowing just 97.1 points per 100 possessions to the Suns, and did it with maximal effort in pick-and-roll coverages, help rotations and second efforts to get out to shooters.
Against a Mavericks team with electric scorers like rookie Luka Doncic and explosive guard Dennis Smith Jr., the Thunder will have to contain the ball and pressure playmakers at the point of the screen to force miscues and limit Dallas’ rhythm. If that’s possible, the Thunder’s offense will have a chance to surge out into transition, zip the ball around and attack the basket to create layups and catch-and-shoot looks.
“We’ve leaned on defense all season long and it’s important that we constantly keep leaning on that to win games,” Westbrook noted.
“On the defensive end we’re doing a great job. Offensively we just gotta improve moving the ball (and) hitting our open shots,” said Schröder.
Another factor that could play into this game, regardless of the status of the Thunder’s three wings that may or may not play, is the recent performance of Westbrook, who after struggling with his shot since returning from an ankle injury is starting to look more confident and on balance with his slicing attacks to the rim and jump shots as well. Westbrook has shot 33-of-68 over the last three games, including contests where he shot 52.6 percent and 58.6 percent from the field. If Westbrook can continue to return to form, the Thunder’s offense could take a big step up the charts.
“The thing that amazes me is that the year is so long and so grueling and maybe a lot of players sometimes fade as the season goes,” said Donovan. “He gets better as the season goes.”
NEWS & NOTES
- For just the second time this season the Thunder started Westbrook and Schröder together in the backcourt. Both times the players and team has thrived. Against Phoenix, the tandem combined for 60 points on 25-of-47 shooting to go with 16 rebounds and 14 assists. If George is back against Dallas, Schröder may go back to his role coming off the bench, but it’s clear that the ability by the Thunder’s three top playmakers to mesh nicely together has gone as well as could have been hoped for thus far.
- “It’s great to play off of each other,” said Westbrook of the two point guard dynamic. “We know who has it going and who doesn’t. It’s been an easy transition for himself and myself as well.”
- “When Paul is back, that’s an added dimension in that too,” Donovan noted. “All three of them have done a good job of learning and figuring out how to play with each other.”
- Many players speak of getting into a rhythm or a zone offensively, but the Thunder is unique in that many players often speak of finding a defensive flow. George believes his offense thrives best when he’s challenged and locked in defensively, and Schröder echoed that sentiment on Friday, saying that guarding elite opposition can help open up his all-around game. With Mavericks guard JJ Barea coming off the bench as a microwave of scoring, Schröder may have his chance to be a crucial stopper.
- “What I want to do when Russ is on the floor, and PG, is just to try to defend their best player and try to get my rhythm going defensively,” Schröder added.
- The revelation on Friday was the play of Nader, who surely won’t be consistently putting up scoring numbers like he did in Phoenix when he registered a career-high of 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Nader did show, however, that with his size, strength, length and skill profile that he can be versatile, switch defensively and attack downhill against closeouts. He shot 2-for-4 from behind the arc and also blasted by defenders off the bounce to score at the rim on physical and-one layups.
- “I knew at some point I would get an opportunity. Playing in Houston got my feet wet and got me feeling more comfortable and confident in myself,” Nader said, referencing the 10 minutes he played on Christmas Day.
- “I work on that stuff every day with (Thunder staffers) Dave Bliss and Vin (Bhavnani). We literally do that stuff every day,” Nader continued, in regard to the dribble drives. “A guy crawls up into you, you go by him, take two long steps and you can get an and-one easily. It’s not just out of the blue.”