The Thunder has won 11 of its last 13 games, but Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club isn’t satisfied with results on the scoreboard. Instead, it focuses on the sustainability of its play.
There’s no denying the Thunder’s offensive prowess of late, as over its last two games it has scored 253 points, shooting over a combined 91-for-169 (53.8 percent) from the field. One of the reasons the Thunder have been so proficient on offense is the fact that all five players on the floor have been involved, regardless of the personnel on the floor.
While Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are often able to create for teammates in isolation or in pick-and-rolls, it is the ability of their teammates to operate in space to take advantage of converging defense that makes all the difference.
On Tuesday night against Milwaukee, the Thunder got the ball to big men like Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Nick Collison and Enes Kanter at the elbow after the Bucks trapped the ball-handler, and the bigs did an excellent job of decision making from there. Either taking the open shot, drawing a defender and making the extra pass or attacking to draw a foul allowed the Thunder to keep the scoreboard moving all night.
“Generally when that ball gets into that elbow, free throw line area off of pick and roll, it’s two-on-one” Donovan said of the strong side action. “The next part is those guys have to generate the next pass if they’re not shooting. They’ve gotten better in that area. When the side is overloaded and they catch it, it’s really three-against-two on the back side. They have their progression of reads they need to make and they’re getting a little bit better at that.
The defense, on the other hand, has fallen short of where Donovan and company know their team can play. With long, quick, athletic players at all five positions, the Thunder knows it has the ability to clog up passing and driving lanes, it just has to maintain focus and attention to detail on the finer aspects of the game.
“The one area we’ve had some slippage is defense,” Donovan said. “Where we’ve been hurt is on back cutting behind our heads, we’ve gotten hurt on offensive rebounding and we’ve gotten hurt on communication on switches.”
Against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Thunder allowed 123 points on 49.0 percent shooting, including a 10-for-16 mark from the three-point line. Against the Denver Nuggets, Donovan’s club gave up 48.9 percent shooting and 17 offensive rebounds. Those type of numbers are unsustainable for the Thunder to continue giving up if it is to maintain or exceed its current winning pace, and improve upon its 22-10 record.- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Payne Staying Patient, Prepared
A career-high 16 points was just about the lowest on the list of Cameron Payne’s achievements on Tuesday against Milwaukee, as the vibrant rookie point guard showed perspective after Wednesday’s practice. After back-to-back positive performances in the Thunder rotation, Payne explained that he was most interested in building off of the way he facilitated for the team on offense and how he defended as he continues to mature.
“We came out and got the win,” Payne said. “I just wanted to come out there and do my best, give it my all and play as hard as I can.”
A huge key for Payne’s ability to step in and make an impact was the time he spent with the Oklahoma City Blue, getting some much-needed live game action in order to be in rhythm. In two games in the Development League, Payne put together averages of 23.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals. His approach has been one of patience and learning, understanding that there will be ups and downs during his rookie year. Moving forward, he’ll maintain that same, consistent attitude.
“It’s still a process. When I was playing in the D-League and got a little action it helped me out,” Payne said. “It was really to just get a feel for the game, stay game-ready and have that instinct to get my game back, keep my game on, be able to see the floor and keep everything in tune.”
