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Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan thinks that every great team has “togetherness” mentally as well as being in-sync in the game.
After beating the Boston Celtics 98-84 in a scrimmage Friday, Donovan said in a Zoom call with media that he thinks the Thunder have the first part.
“I don’t know if you can ever be a great team without great togetherness,” Donovan said. “You’ve gotta have talent, you’ve gotta have good players, they’ve gotta play together, but when you have a team that’s connected, and they’re willing to play for each other, they’re willing to play with each other, that is really, really, really what I think allows you to become a really good, quality team.”
He thinks they need to regain the second.
“I still think the execution piece, and the timing and all those kind of things are something that we gotta continue to get better at,” he said. “But I’ve been really encouraged by the group because they have done a great job of working together, bringing energy every single day, playing for one another and trying to help one another.”
There was some sloppy play and passing in the first half. As cohesive as the Thunder looked throughout the season, this first game back was not to the level it needs to be once real games start.
Not that that’s worrisome, or even a surprise. Oklahoma City faced a different team for the first time in more than four months after a long hiatus of organized activity.
“I was pleased with the things we did, but I know that there’s room for us to continue to grow and get better at,” Donovan said.
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Beyond simply being the first time back on the court together, Donovan threw different combinations on the floor. Six bench players got more than 10 minutes; only one starter got more than 20. Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari both played just 15 minutes.
Having Andre Roberson on the floor at all is brand new for this Thunder team.
“I wouldn’t really read into too much of (the lineups),” Donovan said. “The one thing you’re trying to do is you’re trying to give guys a decent amount of time to play. Instead of looking at trying to play everybody, you just try to throw some different combinations out there.”
Donovan has to balance that over these three scrimmages with getting his primarily lineups back in sync.
The best Thunder unit, which has the three guards, Gallinari and Adams, played for the final five minutes of the second quarter. That was the best stretch of the half for the Thunder.
After being tied at 29 with 4:02 to go, the Thunder took a 10-point lead over the next two minutes. While Boston did cut that down to five by the end of the half, that was a very positive stretch.
If these main Thunder lineups can be in sync on the court as well as mentally, Donovan says they can be dangerous.
“For our team, it’s not like we’re this group that when you look at us we’re the most talented team in the league — we’ve done it because we’ve been a really good collective group together from top to bottom. These guys have done a great job with their relationships, they’ve done a great job spending time. I think it’s critical. I think it’s really valuable,” Donovan said.
“The best teams I’ve ever been around have had really, really good connections. Not to say that they always got along and they were best of friends, but they were all playing for a common goal and the values they shared were common …
“I think this group has that. We just gotta use this time as best we can to work on the execution piece of it and the timing and those things. I think the spirit part for us has been great.”
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