Date: February 23, 2020
Tip-Off Time: 6 p.m. CTTelevision: Fox Sports OklahomaRadio: 98.1 FM WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
Thunder Status Coming out of the All-Star break, the Thunder made a statement about how it plans to approach the back half of the season. Rather than easing back into action following the break, the Thunder emerged as the aggressors with seven players in double figures on the way to handing Denver its first division loss of the season on Friday. Steven Adams notched his third straight double-double, the Thunder snatched 12 steals and Chris Paul led all Thunder scorers with 29 points.
“I think it says all the work we’ve put in from game one to [now],” said Thunder center Nerlens Noel. “We’ve constantly said that we want to get better and better and I think that was a great test for us for a potential team we could see later on.”
Opponent Breakdown The Thunder last faced the Spurs only days before heading into the All-Star break. In that game, the Thunder got off to a slow start offensively putting up only 14 points in the first quarter but kept itself in the game behind a strong defensive effort. However, the Spurs were able to pull ahead in the fourth quarter when Dejounte Murray and LeMarcus Aldridge racked up 12 points apiece while the Spurs drained 7 of 10 from the midrange.
The Spurs also tout a backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Bryn Forbes with Patty Mills and Rudy Gay bringing a spark offense off the bench. With the contingent of playmaking guards at the Spurs disposal, the Thunder’s perimeter defense will look to stay locked in and disciplined for 48 minutes to keep them contained.
“They’ve got a lot of guys who can put the ball on the floor and drive it. I thought we had a hard time handling them at times off the dribble and we’re going to have to do a good job containing the ball as best as we can,” said Thunder head coach Billy Donovan.
Matchup Focus
As the anchor for the Spurs offense, Aldridge will be a point of focus for OKC’s big men. Aldridge thrives in the midrange with the ability to stretch the floor and shoot from behind the arc. Thunder centers Adams and Nerlens Noel will work to make his looks contested and take him out of rhythm on the offensive end while staying clean and not giving him easy points at the free throw line.
“Just to bother him. There’s some exceptional post players in this league and he’s one of them, he makes tough shots,” said Noel. “Keep the fouls low, not put anybody to the free throw line… little things that will make a difference.”
Stat to Watch
3-point percentage. 3-point percentage- While the Spurs don’t shoot a high volume of 3-pointers per contest, they are one of the more efficient teams in the league in that area sitting at seventh in the league. In its last game against Utah, San Antonio shot 50-percent from behind the arc with Forbes leading the way with four of his own. For the Thunder it will be critical to contest those looks, particularly in transition where the Thunder has looked to improve as of late.
“Transition, no question. We got hurt,” said Donovan on what he wanted his team to fix from the last game against the Spurs. “They missed a lot of shots in transition in particular threes…so I think getting back and defending the three.”
Thunder Trend
In the three games that the Thunder has played against San Antonio this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 21 points. However, in the Thunder’s last game, Gilgeous-Alexander showed his ability to not only score, but also facilitate at a high level.
To start the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander was responsible for the Thunder’s first nine points via scoring and assisting. This is an area that Coach Donovan and his staff have wanted to see SGA continue to grow in over the course of the season.
“Shai has done an unbelievable job this year handling everything because I have been really challenging on him to not ever become one dimensional because he’s just too gifted and talented,” said Donovan.