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SAN ANTONIO — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander placed a couple of bandages on his bloodied knee as his right-hand man, Jalen Williams, sat next to him in street clothes. And for the first time in these playoffs, J-Dub’s absence was laid bare. Life is indeed harder without an All-NBA dynamo. That it took until now to feel the brunt of that is a luxury only the Thunder knows.
OKC had thrived without Williams thanks to the ascension of Ajay Mitchell, but how would OKC’s offense look Sunday without both of them for the first time in these playoffs?
The answer: Overwhelmed and undermanned.
The Spurs drubbed the Thunder 103-82 in Game 4, drawing even in the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder holds home-court advantage in what’s been reduced to a best-of-three series, but the Spurs have health. OKC might trade one of its Loud City games for San Antonio’s spotless injury report.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault sounded equal parts disappointed and optimistic, not willing to use the injuries as an excuse.
“They outplayed us tonight,” Daigneault said, “but the group we had can play a lot better than we played tonight.”
REPORT CARD: Give Spurs fans credit for creativity with fake Oscar for SGA, Thunder
The Thunder needed a Nikola Topic layup to crack 80. It was the fewest points the Thunder scored in a playoff game since a 2020 game against the Rockets in the bubble. The last time the Thunder scored fewer points in any game — playoffs or regular season — was Dec. 2, 2021. That was the day the Thunder lost by 73 points.
Scoring 73 points was no sure thing Sunday as the Thunder shot 33% from the floor, including 6-of-33 (18%) from 3-point range.
“I thought we left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor tonight,” Daigneault said. “We didn’t have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them. And they were really good defensively.”
A Thunder team rich in depth suddenly looked depleted with two of its top-three ball handlers on the shelf.
The Thunder can win without Williams. And it can win without Mitchell. But it’s going to be awfully hard to beat these Spurs without both of them. J-Dub’s left hamstring and Ajay’s right calf are impacting these Western Conference Finals as much as Victor Wembanyama’s alien arms.
Williams is presumably closer to returning than Mitchell, but the Thunder doesn’t disclose anything on the injury front. It’s anybody’s guess as to when/if either of them will return.
The Thunder on Sunday played like a team down two of its three offensive engines. SGA was Option 1, 2 and 3, and the Spurs opted to defend him straight up more so than in any game this series. It’s as if Mitch Johnson and his staff told SGA to go ahead and do his thing.
Those easy reads to wide open shooters largely went away. With Stephon Castle stuck to SGA and Wembanyama still roaming the paint, the Thunder’s offensive options ran drier than the Rio Grande.
TAKEAWAYS: Wembanyama, Spurs smash Thunder in Game 4, even up Western Conference Finals
Alex Caruso, the Thunder’s savior in this series, had as many points as Bismack Biyombo. Caruso basically got the night off. He attempted one shot in 14 minutes.
Jared McCain, the hero of Game 3, shot 1 of 10 from the floor and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
Lu Dort had three more fouls (five) than points.
Cason Wallace was 2 of 8.
Jaylin Williams was 1 of 7.
Aaron Wiggins, who’s been on a season-long sabbatical, was 2 of 11.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 6 of 15 himself for a team-high 19 points. Isaiah Hartenstein tied SGA for the team-high in makes and Hartenstein tied Wiggins for the second-most shot attempts.
Unless floaters start counting for five points, the Thunder is in trouble if Hartenstein is getting more shots up than Chet Holmgren — who has to eat rather than waiting to be fed.
Here’s an outside-the-box idea to generate offense (from a guy with 0.008% of the basketball knowledge of Daigneault): Start Isaiah Joe in Wallace’s place. Lean offense over defense. Maybe Joe’s gravitational pull as a 3-point shooter can free up space for SGA. Maybe the Isaiah/Isaiah two-man game can drum up some open looks.
Daigneault said his team’s offensive woes were more global than granular. And maybe more to do with psyche than schemes.
More: OKC Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren make All-NBA teams
“A lot of these playoff games, when they get to this point in the series, come down to physicality and force,” Daigneault said. “Your force has to be better than their physicality on defense and your physicality has to be better than their force on offense.”
Daigneault likened it to a football game that’s decided in the trenches.
“It wasn’t like they shot lights-out tonight,” Daigneault said of the Spurs, which were sub-40% from the field and sub-30% from three. “The game was won at the free-throw line, on the glass, in transition, and their execution in the half court was better on both ends.”
Lu Dort was asked if he agreed with Daigneault’s assessment. That a lack of force and physicality was the Thunder’s biggest failure Sunday night.
“1,000%,” Dort said.
“I think it’s a snowball effect,” SGA added. “When you come out with the right energy, things like (missing two ball handlers) work out and the offense has flow. I don’t think we came out with the right energy today.”
Better energy would help in Games 5 and 6. So too would a healthy J-Dub or Ajay Mitchell.
Without them, a couple of bandages might not be enough to stop the bleeding.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder offense sputters in Game 4 down two of top-three ball handlers
Continue reading...
OKC had thrived without Williams thanks to the ascension of Ajay Mitchell, but how would OKC’s offense look Sunday without both of them for the first time in these playoffs?
The answer: Overwhelmed and undermanned.
The Spurs drubbed the Thunder 103-82 in Game 4, drawing even in the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder holds home-court advantage in what’s been reduced to a best-of-three series, but the Spurs have health. OKC might trade one of its Loud City games for San Antonio’s spotless injury report.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault sounded equal parts disappointed and optimistic, not willing to use the injuries as an excuse.
“They outplayed us tonight,” Daigneault said, “but the group we had can play a lot better than we played tonight.”
REPORT CARD: Give Spurs fans credit for creativity with fake Oscar for SGA, Thunder
The Thunder needed a Nikola Topic layup to crack 80. It was the fewest points the Thunder scored in a playoff game since a 2020 game against the Rockets in the bubble. The last time the Thunder scored fewer points in any game — playoffs or regular season — was Dec. 2, 2021. That was the day the Thunder lost by 73 points.
Scoring 73 points was no sure thing Sunday as the Thunder shot 33% from the floor, including 6-of-33 (18%) from 3-point range.
“I thought we left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor tonight,” Daigneault said. “We didn’t have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them. And they were really good defensively.”
A Thunder team rich in depth suddenly looked depleted with two of its top-three ball handlers on the shelf.
The Thunder can win without Williams. And it can win without Mitchell. But it’s going to be awfully hard to beat these Spurs without both of them. J-Dub’s left hamstring and Ajay’s right calf are impacting these Western Conference Finals as much as Victor Wembanyama’s alien arms.
Williams is presumably closer to returning than Mitchell, but the Thunder doesn’t disclose anything on the injury front. It’s anybody’s guess as to when/if either of them will return.
The Thunder on Sunday played like a team down two of its three offensive engines. SGA was Option 1, 2 and 3, and the Spurs opted to defend him straight up more so than in any game this series. It’s as if Mitch Johnson and his staff told SGA to go ahead and do his thing.
Those easy reads to wide open shooters largely went away. With Stephon Castle stuck to SGA and Wembanyama still roaming the paint, the Thunder’s offensive options ran drier than the Rio Grande.
TAKEAWAYS: Wembanyama, Spurs smash Thunder in Game 4, even up Western Conference Finals
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Alex Caruso, the Thunder’s savior in this series, had as many points as Bismack Biyombo. Caruso basically got the night off. He attempted one shot in 14 minutes.
Jared McCain, the hero of Game 3, shot 1 of 10 from the floor and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
Lu Dort had three more fouls (five) than points.
Cason Wallace was 2 of 8.
Jaylin Williams was 1 of 7.
Aaron Wiggins, who’s been on a season-long sabbatical, was 2 of 11.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 6 of 15 himself for a team-high 19 points. Isaiah Hartenstein tied SGA for the team-high in makes and Hartenstein tied Wiggins for the second-most shot attempts.
Unless floaters start counting for five points, the Thunder is in trouble if Hartenstein is getting more shots up than Chet Holmgren — who has to eat rather than waiting to be fed.
Here’s an outside-the-box idea to generate offense (from a guy with 0.008% of the basketball knowledge of Daigneault): Start Isaiah Joe in Wallace’s place. Lean offense over defense. Maybe Joe’s gravitational pull as a 3-point shooter can free up space for SGA. Maybe the Isaiah/Isaiah two-man game can drum up some open looks.
Daigneault said his team’s offensive woes were more global than granular. And maybe more to do with psyche than schemes.
More: OKC Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren make All-NBA teams
You must be registered for see images attach
“A lot of these playoff games, when they get to this point in the series, come down to physicality and force,” Daigneault said. “Your force has to be better than their physicality on defense and your physicality has to be better than their force on offense.”
Daigneault likened it to a football game that’s decided in the trenches.
“It wasn’t like they shot lights-out tonight,” Daigneault said of the Spurs, which were sub-40% from the field and sub-30% from three. “The game was won at the free-throw line, on the glass, in transition, and their execution in the half court was better on both ends.”
Lu Dort was asked if he agreed with Daigneault’s assessment. That a lack of force and physicality was the Thunder’s biggest failure Sunday night.
“1,000%,” Dort said.
“I think it’s a snowball effect,” SGA added. “When you come out with the right energy, things like (missing two ball handlers) work out and the offense has flow. I don’t think we came out with the right energy today.”
Better energy would help in Games 5 and 6. So too would a healthy J-Dub or Ajay Mitchell.
Without them, a couple of bandages might not be enough to stop the bleeding.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder offense sputters in Game 4 down two of top-three ball handlers
Continue reading...
