With season wrapped up, OKC is ready for the lottery
LOS ANGELES — A group of fans a dozen rows back, one wearing a Kevin Durant SuperSonics jersey, tried to get Mark Daigneault’s attention.
“We want Poku, we want Poku, we want Poku,” they chanted with a series of claps.
They didn’t get Poku.
In Game 82, Daigneault stuck with a six-man rotation, just like he did in Game 81. The Thunder didn’t want to risk a win in the season finale, and playing only six guys — half of which are on 10-day contracts — led to an expected loss.
The Clippers pummeled the Thunder 138-88 Sunday night in Los Angeles . It was the largest margin of victory (50 points) in Clippers history.
The Thunder finished the regular season 24-58, which gives OKC the fourth-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Zavier Simpson, Vit Krejci, Georgios Kalaitzakis, Jaylen Hoard, Isaiah Roby and Melvin Frazier Jr. were the only Thunder players that saw the floor. All but Roby logged 40-plus minutes. Kalaitzaksi played all 48 minutes.
Aleksej Pokusevski (much to the chagrin of his fan club), Theo Maledon, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins and Lindy Waters III never took off their warmups. They were joined on the bench by two rows of teammates in street clothes, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort.
The Thunder squad Sunday night in Los Angeles was unrecognizable from
“That’s an iron-man effort out of him and all those guys. Those guys did a really good job from Tuesday until now – that’s four games and a lot of minutes. To their credit, they competed all the way through the finish line.”
Mark Daigneault, Thunder coach
the one that tipped off the season six months ago in Salt Lake City.
Clipper Darrell, whom you can’t miss at Clippers games, shouted at Kalaitzakis when Kalaitzakis stepped to the free throw line in the first quarter.
“Excuse me, who are you?” Clipper Darrell yelled.
Unfortunately for Kalaitzakis, Clippers fans might remember him as the player who botched a breakaway dunk.
Kalaitzakis finished with 17 points and six rebounds, but his most impressive accomplishment was logging a complete game.
“That’s an iron-man effort out of him and all those guys,” Daigneault said. “Those guys did a really good job from Tuesday until now — that’s four games and a lot of minutes.
“To their credit, they competed all the way through the finish line.”
Clippers connect
The Clippers started hot and stayed hot.
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell and Marcus Morris Sr. were all out, but the Clippers still boasted far more firepower than the Thunder.
Third-year guard Amir Coffey scored a career-high 35 points. Coffey shot 13of-22, including 7-of-10 from three.
The Clippers shot 18-of-35 (51%) from 3-point range. Luke Kennard was 4-of-10, and Robert Covington was 3of-5.
The Thunder, meanwhile, shot 9of-34 (27%) from deep.
Hoarding rebounds
Another night, another double-double for Hoard.
Hoard shot the ball poorly Sunday night (6-of-20), but he pulled in 15 rebounds to go with 14 points.
Hoard finished the season on some kind of rebounding spree. In six games since getting called up, Hoard tallied at least 15 rebounds in four of them.
Simpson, a 6-foot guard, had nine rebounds to go with his 17 points and seven assists.
Simpson made a few more of those glorious hook shots.
“For a guy that size, you need to have some stuff that offsets the lack of size,” Daigneault said, “and his physicality and his toughness and his intelligence does that.”
Simpson’s dad flew in from Ohio for the game. He wore one of Simpson’s OKC Blue jerseys.
“I know he’s extremely proud,” Simpson said.
Frazier’s path back to NBA
Frazier didn’t know when, or if, he’d be back in the NBA.
The 25-year-old guard played 29 games for the Magic between 2018-20, but he’d spent much of the last two seasons in the G League, splitting time between the OKC Blue and Iowa Wolves.
“You put in so much work and you never know when the time is gonna come,” Frazier said. “Some people give up.”
Frazier persevered, and last week the Thunder rewarded him with a twoway contract.
Frazier made his third appearance with the Thunder on Sunday night. He had eight points and four rebounds.
“This is what I’ve been working for my whole life,” Frazier said. “Just trying to make the best of it.”
The New Orleans native was recruited by OU and OSU, but Frazier committed to nearby Tulane, where he played for three seasons before the Magic selected him with the 35th pick in the 2018 draft.
“Just been working in the G League for a minute now, just trying to get back into the NBA,” Frazier said. “Me putting in that work and getting that call up just felt good, just knowing that people see the work that’s been going on.”
NBA Draft lottery outlook
The Pacers and Pistons had already lost by the time the Thunder tipped-off, which left just two scenarios in the upside-down standings.
If the Thunder beat the Clippers, OKC and Indiana would finish in a tie for fourth. If the Thunder lost to the Clippers, OKC would finish solo fourth.
Had the Thunder won Sunday, a coin flip would’ve determined if OKC or Indiana got the fourth-or fifth-best odds to win the lottery.
With the fourth-best odds, the Thunder will have a 12.5% chance at the No. 1 pick. The bottom-three teams have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick.
The Thunder will have a 12.2% chance of landing the No. 2 pick, an 11.9% chance at the No. 3 pick, an 11.5% chance at the No. 4 pick, a 7.2% chance at the No. 5 pick, a 25.7% chance at the No. 6 pick, a 16.7% chance at the No. 7 pick and a 2.2% chance at the No. 8 pick.
The Thunder can fall no lower than eighth on lottery night, which is May 17.
The Clippers, which owe their firstround pick to the Thunder, will face the Timberwolves in the play-in tournament. The winner will get the No. 7 seed and play the No. 2 seed Grizzlies in the first round. The loser will play the winner of the second play-in game, between New Orleans and San Antonio.
OKC will also pick 30th via the Suns, who finished with the best record (6418) in the NBA.