Thunder need to get to the rim
The Thunder didn’t score often in the second quarter of Saturday’s 111-96 loss at Dallas, but when it did, it relied on the threat of getting to the rim.
“You’ve got to put some pressure at the basket,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “If you’re not putting any pressure at the basket, I think it’s really difficult to have a good offensive night because if there’s no threat to go to the rim, everybody’s just kind of spread out, staying at home.”
OKC shot just 33 percent from the field in the second quarter and were outscored 34-23. When Donovan went over film with his team Sunday, he said he pointed out that they went away from playing downhill in the latter half of the first quarter and much of the second.
This season, the Thunder has been most successful offensively when it has attacked the paint. The ball handler would get to the basket, or if the defense collapsed, he would use a kick-out pass to create an open look for a teammate.
OKC went away from that for much of the second quarter.
“They were really protecting the rim,” Donovan said of the Mavericks. “They were protecting on Steven (Adams’s) rolls. They were protecting on Dennis (Schroder) and Paul (George’s) drives, Raymond (Felton’s) drives. And that’s why I didn’t think we scored many points in the first half, is we, one, settled a bit for some pullups, and two, probably didn’t take it deep enough to probe a little more.”
Then with just over two minutes left in the half, the Thunder went on a 12-0 run. In the midst of that scoring spree, with 46 seconds left on the clock, it looked as if George might force a contested floater. But as he turned toward the basket, Adams cut into the lane. George, already in mid-air, hit him on a bounce pass. Adams put in an easy layup.
Double duty
Abdel Nader continues to yo-yo between the Thunder and its G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. On Sunday he was assigned to the Blue, the day after logging his first field goal as a Thunder player. Nader scored on a layup in the last minute and a half of the Thunder’s loss at Dallas on Saturday.
The night before, Nader scored 20 points for the Blue in 103-99 win against the South Bay Lakers.
He was assigned to the Blue in time for the team’s home game against the Texas Legends on Sunday afternoon.
Tip-ins
Russell Westbrook (left ankle sprain) was listed as out for the Thunder’s home game against Phoenix Suns on Monday.