Champs give Thunder ‘a wake up call’
Jrue Holiday buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
At the end of one: Bucks 48, Thunder 32.
Sure, it’s the preseason, but the Bucks shot 80% (20-of-25) from the field in the first quarter. Milwaukee was 8-of-10 from 3-point range.
Defense is often an issue for young teams, and it projects to be a glaring issue for the Thunder this season — especially against juggernauts like the Bucks.
The defending NBA champs crushed OKC 130-110 Sunday night at Fiserv Forum. It was the second of four Thunder preseason games.
Rookie center Jeremiah RobinsonEarl said it was a “wake-up call.”
“They obviously got the best of us early,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They shot the heck out of it.
“I didn’t think our competitive level was where it needed to be to start the game. And I thought we found that throughout the game, but against a team that good, you can’t search for it very long.”
The biggest hole in the Thunder defense is in the paint. Robinson-Earl and Mike Muscala rotated at center Sunday. Neither are rim protectors. And Darius Bazley was no match for Giannis Antetokounmpo’s barrelling first-quarter drives.
The Thunder is going to allow loads of easy buckets this season. Then again, that’s how the roster was constructed.
Here are four more takeaways from Sunday:
Robinson-Earl replaces Roby
Daigneault made only one change in his starting lineup. He started Robinson-Earl at center in place of Isaiah Roby — who started the Thunder’s first preseason game.
Roby was available Sunday, but he didn’t play. Daigneault wanted to get a longer look at Robinson-Earl, Mamadi Diakite and D.J. Wilson.
Daigneault has said throughout training camp that center is the most fluid position in the starting lineup. Robinson-Earl and Roby are competing for the spot, and Derrick Favors and Muscala are veteran options.
“I do think that position is pretty unique in that the person you have in that spot can kind of change the style of your team and the way you’re playing,” Daigneault said. “It’s not just a competition in a vacuum with those guys, it’s trying to evaluate how they impact the rest of the team and how we play when they’re out there on the court.”
Favors (return to competition reconditioning), the closest OKC has to a natural center, was out Sunday. Kenrich Williams (right big toe sprain) and Vit Krejci (personal reasons) were also out.
Robinson-Earl had a nice pick-andpop game with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander .
“It’s a lot of fun being able to play with Shai, a really dynamic guard that can make his own shot, get to the goal, be able to find the open man,” Robinson-Earl said.
Robinson-Earl was 2-of-8 from 3point range. The attempts were more noteworthy than the makes or misses. JRE only attempted 3.3 3-pointers per game last season at Villanova. He never attempted more than six 3-pointers in a college game.
“It’s something I’ve been working on a lot during the summer,” Robinson-Earl said of his range.
As an undersized center, the 3-point shot is clearly going to be a big part of his game. Robinson-Earl has shot the ball well in training camp, according to his coaches and teammates.
“I thought he took really good ones tonight,” Daigneault said. “I also thought he made good reads … He’s got versatility on the offensive end. He’s a good drive-and-kick player. He can pop. He can shoot. He’s got toughness.
While center is fluid, the other four starting spots seem set: Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Josh Giddey and Darius Bazley.
Those four have started both preseason games.
Birthday boy
Giddey turned 19 on Sunday. That’s right, 19.
The Thunder’s No. 6 pick is five months younger than Chet Holmgren, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft.
Giddey had nine points, six assists and six rebounds against the Bucks. He shot 3-of-9.
Dort’s hot shooting
Dort led the Thunder with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
“He found his shots, but he also drove and kicked,” Daigneault said. “He had a good offensive game.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and Ty Jerome were the only other Thunders who reached double-digits.
Dort shot 34% from 3-point range last season — a big jump from his 30% rookie mark. He could become a dangerous two-way weapon if he takes a similar leap this season.
Still searching
Aleksej Pokusevski has really struggled offensively in the first two preseason games. It’s a tiny, insignificant sample, but that’s all there is to go off of right now.
Pokusevski air-balled a pair of 3pointers in his 1-of-6 night. He had one assist, no rebounds and no blocks in 19 minutes.
Pokusevski was a regular starter in the second half of last season. Barring an injury, he’ll come off the bench this season.