The injury bug has made its mark on the Oklahoma City Thunder, causing turmoil and affecting the team historically.
Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, and Aaron Wiggins have all missed significant time this season, and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now missed the last five games heading into the NBA All-Star break.
It’s led to a tough slate throughout January and into mid-February. However, the Thunder still have the most wins in the NBA and are leading the Western Conference for the third consecutive season, with a record of 42-14 despite the injury woes.
The Thunder didn’t go into the break the way they wanted to after an embarrassing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, which sums up their play of late — a (5-6) stretch in the past 11 games heading into the break.
Here are three (Pre-All-Star-Break) takeaways from Oklahoma City.
1. The injury bug is taking its toll
Injuries have been the theme for the Thunder as they entered the last stretch of games before the break, with a long list of names on the injury report. Ranking third in the NBA in the number of games missed due to injury. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the final five games before the break, Ajay Mitchell missed the last 13 games, Jalen Williams has missed 30 games, Isaiah Hartenstein has missed 26 games, Alex Caruso has missed 19 games, and Aaron Wiggins has missed 15 games.
Oklahoma City has certainly felt their absences as the Thunder were a dominant 24-1, but since going to Vegas, they are 18-13. The Thunder haven’t brought the same level of intensity and haven’t found the same magic they had at the beginning of the season.
Obviously, the Thunder hope to be as healthy as possible after the All-Star break so they can get back to business. Injuries are a part of every season, but the Thunder is tired of injuries being a part of its own.
2. Defensive Slippage
Since the turn of the calendar year, Oklahoma City hasn’t played with the same defensive intensity it’s capable of. Their usual level of disruption hasn’t been there, as the Thunder have dropped to 8th in opponents’ turnover percentage at 15.3%.
The Thunder’s bread-and-butter is winning the turnover battle, as the opponents’ turnover discrepancy has shrunk over this stretch. Add in the Thunder dropping to 27th in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, and ultimately causing more cracks for this Thunder squad.
Something that has been out of the ordinary for Oklahoma City is allowing opposing teams to be comfortable against this Thunder’s defense.
In February, the opponents seemed not be phased as the opposing teams shot about 46% from the floor. And in the 31 games since their 24-1 start, opposing teams have shot 37.4% from three. Granted, a lot of their key defensive weapons weren’t available during this stretch, but overall, the Thunder had a clear drop-off defensively.
3. Despite being the hunted, it is the Thunder’s season to lose
Now that the All-Star break has officially begun, the Thunder go into the break atop the West at 42-14. San Antonio is only three games behind, but at this point, Oklahoma City controls its own destiny.
The hope for Oklahoma City is to come out of the break healthy and ready to run in its remaining 26 games of the season. While the Thunder hope to keep the first seed, the ultimate goal is to win back-to-back titles.
The Thunder will be back in action on Friday, February 20th, to take on the Brooklyn Nets in Oklahoma City. This will be the start of the Thunder’s late-season push and, hopefully, the next step in the franchise’s quest for its second NBA Championship.
Main Image: © Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
