Despite shaking off some rust from having an 8-day layoff, the Oklahoma City Thunder have defended homecourt, putting themselves in a strong position as the series now shifts over to Los Angeles.
Here are three thoughts on Oklahoma City’s taking a convincing 2-0 over the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 2.
Oklahoma City’s turning defense into offense
The Thunder’s offense didn’t exactly look offbeat. They shot 52% from the floor and 41% from three. They handed out 55 assists and scored 94 points in the paint. Chet Holmgren was dominant on both ends, and Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of Jalen Williams, has ran the offense and stepped up as a creator and defender. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had an uncharacteristic sloppy (seven turnovers) in Game 1, dealt with foul trouble and only played 28 minutes in Game 2. Jared McCain has provided the ultimate spark off the bench, cracking double figures in these first two games.
However, the main takeaway here is that Oklahoma City’s defense has turned the Lakers over at a high clip. The Thunder have forced 37 turnovers, scoring 46 points off of them. They have also outscored LA (82 to 35) in bench points.
If Oklahoma City’s defense stays this good, then this series will be over quickly.
The Thunder have succeeded in attacking off of “SGA Doubles”
The Lakers have deployed the game plan of taking the ball out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands and making everyone else beat you strategy: Chet Holmgren, 23 points per game on 57/71/82 shooting splits. Ajay Mitchell, 19 points and 5 assists per game on 50% shooting from the floor and 90% from the free-throw line. And Jared McCain, who has scored 30 points in 33 minutes on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 shooting from three. Have capitalized on the numbers advantage thus far.
Recipe for success. Credit the Thunder offense: Oklahoma City is more in sync as a whole, despite missing their All-NBA wing in Jalen Williams. As mentioned above, others have stepped up, leading to the best offensive rating (125.5) in the playoffs thus far.
The on/off numbers paint a bigger positive for Oklahoma City. The Thunder are a +14 with SGA on the court and a +23 (minus garbage time minutes) with SGA on the court in this series. Showing the growth as a unit. Making the Lakers pay for constantly doubling and blitzing him almost every time he touches the front court.
If the Thunder continue to operate this efficiently off of SGA’s doubles, then this will be a short series.
Chet Holmgren has been the best player for Oklahoma City
Holmgren’s playoff breakthrough continued through this homestead. He was assertive offensively, scoring 46 points (16-of-28 from the floor, 5-of-7 from three) while grabbing 21 rebounds, and being a +29 in 64 minutes of action. Taking advantage of mismatches —when the Lakers put a big on him, he made them pay on the perimeter. When they defended him with a guard or a wing, he shot right over them in the post and play-finished over them.
As impactful as Holmgren has been offensively, his defensive presence remains his calling card. Blocking five shots through the first two games, contesting many more. When Holmgren is the primary defender, the Lakers are 1-of-9 from the floor in Game 1 and holding the Lakers to low percentages in specific contests when they went at him in Game 2. The level of confidence and production that is flowing through Holmgren right now is coming at the right time for Oklahoma City.
Main Image: © Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
