Category: NBA Playoffs

Chet Holmgren admits importance of Thunder’s Game 4 win over Mavericks

Chet Holmgren admits importance of Thunder’s Game 4 win over Mavericks.

Battling through offensive sluggishness and a 14-point deficit, the Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of an early grave to their stellar 2023-24 campaign.

For most of the contest, the offensive woes limited the Thunder, and it felt inevitable they would face a near-insurmountable 3-1 deficit to the Dallas Mavericks.

Instead, what happened was one of the biggest moments of this young core’s tenure. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams took over the fourth quarter and outdueled Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to steal a road game.

The Thunder’s 100-96 Game 4 win over the Mavericks evened the series at two apiece. It is guaranteed to go at least six games — and likely seven considering how close the last three games have been.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams took over with elite shot-making buckets in the final frame.

The MVP finalist scored eight straight points for OKC at one point and sealed it at the end at the free-throw line. Williams shook off a rough start and scored seven points in the final frame to help co-lead the Thunder to the comeback win.

Others stepped up in the fourth quarter. Including Chet Holmgren, whose corner 3-pointer gave the Thunder their first lead since the first quarter. The outside shot gave OKC an 89-86 edge it wouldn’t relinquish in the final 3:24 of the contest.

The 7-foot rookie calmly nailed a pair of free throws after being intentionally fouled to give the Thunder a 98-95 lead with nine seconds left.

After the adrenaline-filled win, Holmgren offered a peak behind the curtains in their Game 4 preparation. He admitted the Thunder treated it as essentially a must-win contest.

“I’m not going to try to downplay at all, that was a lot of pressure to win that game,” Holmgren said on Game 4. “You never want to be in a 3-1 situation. It’s obviously a lot better to be 2-2 going home. To play a three-game series with homecourt advantage.”

Struggling to score, the Thunder gutted out one of their most impressive wins of the year. The young squad showed great resilience in a hostile road playoff environment and picked up arguably their best postseason win yet.

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L2M Report: Pair of mistakes hurt OKC Thunder in Game 3 loss to Mavericks

L2M Report: Pair of mistakes hurt OKC Thunder in Game 3 loss to Mavericks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 3 loss to the Dallas Mavericks received extra salt in the wound with the Last Two Minutes Report.

The L2M Report indicated a pair of officiating mistakes hurt the Thunder. The first included Luka Doncic getting away with a turnover: He palmed the basketball with a 102-99 lead with 1:50 left.

The non-call was inconsequential because Doncic missed a stepback jumper. The second mistake was more costly though.

A controversial jump ball created outrage among Thunder fans. With OKC trailing, 102-99, with 1:32 left, the referees called for a jump ball between Lu Dort and Doncic.

The L2M report admitted it should’ve been a non-call. Both players had their hands on the loose ball and the play shouldn’t have been stopped for a held ball.

Doncic won the jump ball and gained Dallas an extra possession. It was a costly mistake considering the Thunder lost a one-possession game. The Thunder could’ve created a quality look to tie the game at 101 with roughly a minute left.

The admission of the errors is a nice sign of accountability, but the damage is done. While the Thunder didn’t lose because of the officials, getting an extra possession in a three-point game could’ve played a massive role in how Game 3 turned out.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thinks Thunder should limit P.J. Washington’s hot shooting

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thinks Thunder should limit P.J. Washington’s hot shooting.

Through three games of their second-round matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, the biggest surprise has been P.J. Washington turning into a supernova scorer.

Washington has been the Mavericks’ second-leading scorer and third-leading total scorer of the series. In Dallas’ wins in games 2 and 3, he scored a combined 56 points and shot 12-of-23 (52.2%) from 3.

The surprising development has swung the last two games to the Mavericks. In the regular season, Washington shot a lowly 32% from 3 on 5.7 attempts.

That type of efficiency meant the Thunder should’ve been comfortable allowing Washington to take as many 3-pointers as he’d like. On paper, it’s a sound strategy because it takes away shots from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

But these are the NBA playoffs. Weird stuff tends to happen that nobody could’ve predicted. Washington turning into a hot outside shooter is a variable that has favored the Mavericks.

Before the question could even be asked after their Game 3 loss, Shai Gigeous-Alexander nodded in frustration at Washington’s hot shooting.

“He’s hooping,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We gotta turn that water off if we want to win the series for sure.”

While there are certainly adjustments to be made with Washington — the Thunder likely should quit conceding the corner spots to him as they have thus far — an overcorrection needs to be avoided.

If the Thunder lose a playoff series because a 32% on six attempts outside shooter turns into a 52% on 12 attempts outside shooter, then so be it. OKC will tip its cap and can enter the offseason knowing sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles in the postseason.

But if the Thunder lose two more games because they suddenly treat Washington like Stephen Curry, thus resulting in more scoring chances for Doncic and Irving, that will be a case of overreacting to a small sample size.

The Thunder can tweak their defensive strategy against Washington. Letting him shoot so many corner 3-pointers might need to be scrapped. But OKC cannot fall into the hole of overcorrection and allow Dallas’ star duo to get hot.

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Mark Daigneault fully supportive of Josh Giddey amid struggles against Mavericks

Mark Daigneault fully supportive of Josh Giddey amid struggles against Mavericks.

Through two games, Josh Giddey’s struggles against the Dallas Mavericks have carried over from the regular season to the playoffs.

In 28 minutes, Giddey is an eye-popping minus-27. This includes being a minus-20 in a career-low 11 minutes in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 2 loss.

The Mavericks have exploited Giddey’s weaknesses of being a non-shooter. It puts him in an awkward spot of trying to create off-ball looks that simply haven’t worked.

Despite this, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault refuses to back away from his starter. The Coach of the Year winner spoke about Giddey’s performance at length, stating the sample size of being a positive outweighs the sample size where he’s a negative.

“In terms of what I’ve seen, I’ve seen three years of Josh Giddey and he’s a very good player and a very important player to our team,” Daigneault said. “In Game 4 in New Orleans, I don’t know that we close that series if he’s not hitting shots in the fourth quarter. …

“I think it’s important with every player — good, bad, whatever — zoom out and see the big picture and the big picture is he’s been a very productive player for a long time. He’s 21 years old. He’s gonna be a very productive player for a long time moving forward.”

It sounds as if the Thunder will stick with Giddey as a starter for an important Game 3 matchup against the Mavericks. Beyond that, who knows how many minutes he logs.

Daigneault has talked ad nauseam about sticking to his rotation philosophy of going deep into his bench despite the jump in intensity in the environment during the playoffs.

“Last night, I made the best decisions I could to try to help us win Game 2. Tomorrow, I’ll make the best decisions I can to help us win Game 3,” Daigneault said. “We’ll see how the game unfolds tomorrow. As it relates to every decision I make, I can’t predict what’s going to happen tomorrow. But I can tell you that Josh is a very important part of what we’re doing.”

As the series progresses, the Thunder could face a difficult decision with Giddey and others in the rotation. The playoffs usually shorten rotations but through six games, OKC hasn’t been forced to fall in line with that conventional wisdom.

If the Thunder fall behind in their second-round series to the Mavericks, Daigneault might be forced to make drastic adjustments for pure survival.

In the regular season, the Thunder made the right call by riding out Giddey’s struggles. They ultimately didn’t affect the final results of games: OKC finished with the top seed and 57 wins.

The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren afforded the Thunder the luxury to work it out with Giddey, who adjusted to a new role.

To OKC’s credit, it paid off with a strong finish to his season. Giddey played a pivotal role in the Thunder’s sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans. But the level of competition has multiplied tenfold in the second round.

Against the Mavericks, the Thunder likely don’t have the same margin for error with Giddey’s struggles. As the series progresses, that wiggle room will slowly disappear. If the 21-year-old doesn’t quickly turn it around, this might not be the playoff series for him.

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Mark Daigneault addresses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2nd-place MVP finish

Mark Daigneault addresses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2nd-place finish for MVP.

Before the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 2 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Daigneault addressed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s runner-up finish for the 2023-24 MVP award.

The 25-year-old finished a distinct second behind three-time winner Nikola Jokic, who won the award by a landslide. This marks back-to-back top-five MVP finishes for Gilgeous-Alexander.

Daigneault said while he had hoped his franchise player won the prestigious award, falling short of it doesn’t discredit his ascension over the last two seasons as one of the best players in the league.

“I was really rooting for him. … I don’t think individual awards validate anything in terms of the work that’s been done with any of our players,” Daigneault said. “It doesn’t change the fact he had a great two-end season, great regular season, unprecedented numbers and impact he has had on our team not only this season but over the course of this build. You can’t even measure.

“An award wouldn’t change any of those things those things all exist and stand on their own two feet.”

Gilgeous-Alexander and Daigneault headline the Thunder’s dominant season as they captured the first seed. The duo has been linked since their tenures started, and they form one of the best coach-star duos in the league.

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Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving voice frustrations with Thunder crowd

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving voice frustrations with Thunder crowd.

As the Dallas Mavericks pulled away from the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2, the former’s star duo barked back at the hostile home crowd.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving didn’t leave OKC without a few extracurricular activities. Both had their fair share of exchanges with Thunder fans in the opening two contests of their second-round series.

Doncic served a courtside fan a warning by the league in Game 1. Later in the game, the same fan refused to give the 25-year-old the basketball in hopes of a quick inbound pass.

Irving also talked smack throughout various points of Game 2. The 32-year-old left the court with a tongue-in-cheek comment about it being “truly Oklahoma” as the crowd synchronized in “Luka sucks!” chants in the final moments.

The playoff intensity will only escalate for the rest of this series. Both the Thunder and Mavericks have passionate fan bases that provide their respective squads a notable homecourt advantage.

But according to Doncic and Irving, they believe Thunder fans should tone it down and keep it strictly basketball trash talk. The former revealed he heard vulgar remarks about his personal life.

“That’s great for me. I love it,” Doncic said on the fan heckling. “Just there was one guy courtside, going at my family. I don’t like that, man.

“You’re a grown-a– man. Just can’t do that. But I didn’t do nothing. I just went back. Nothing. But just it’s crazy. It’s a grown-a– man come at my family. It’s kinda nuts.”

Irving expressed a similar sentiment that was notably lengthier. The multi-time All-Star believes it roots in fans trying to have their 15 minutes of fame as all eyes of the sports world tuned into their playoff game.

“This is not about you right now. You know, you’re not even wearing the Thunder blue shirt. You’re trying to distinguish yourself out here,” Irving said about fan heckling. “You’re trying to get on Twitter to stay active. Like, I know, come on, that’s our generation that we’re in.

“Everybody’s trying to go viral when they’re at NBA games instead of focusing on the players and the task at hand.”

As the series progresses, the hostility will only increase in both fan bases. The Thunder can expect similar levels of taunting in games 3 and 4 at Dallas.

This is what the playoffs are about as both teams fight it out for the Western Conference finals. The Thunder and Mavericks will battle in what will likely be a grueling series that goes the distance.

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Chet Holmgren reflects on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to superstardom

Chet Holmgren reflects on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to superstardom.

Over the last two seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has developed into one of the best players in the league. Back-to-back top-five finishes in MVP voting cemented his status.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished runner-up for the 2023-24 MVP award behind Nikola Jokic, who won the trophy for the third time in his career.

The 25-year-old led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference and a 17-win improvement from last season. In 75 games, he averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds.

Chet Holmgren has enjoyed a front-row seat to Gilgeous-Alexander’s blossom into superstardom since he joined the Thunder in 2022. The Rookie of the Year runner-up talked about his teammate’s graduation to one of the best players in the league.

“There’s so much I can say but everything I can say you guys are witnessing out there too,” Holmgren said. “Special player. Special talent. It’s good to have him in a Thunder uniform with me.”

Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Jalen William round out arguably the best trio in the league. This is the first of likely several playoff runs by the Thunder led by those three players.

If all three continue to develop at the rate they’ve shown since entering the league, the Thunder are in the infancy stages of another long championship window with the star-wing-big trio.

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Mark Daigneault won’t back down from rotation philosophy in NBA playoffs

Mark Daigneault will not back down from rotation philosophy in NBA playoffs.

Through five games in the playoffs, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has stuck to his philosophy.

The Coach of the Year winner is known for having expanded rotations. During his tenure, Daigneault has discussed ad nauseam the benefits of keeping everybody warm.

It rewards players for sticking to the Thunder’s brand of basketball and keeps everybody engaged. Daigneault stuck with this mindset in his playoffs debut.

Nine Thunder players have averaged 12-plus minutes in the playoffs. Ten have averaged over seven minutes per contest. The approach has worked: OKC is 5-0 in the postseason so far.

Daigneault discussed his reasoning for keeping his playoff rotation lengthy instead of cutting it to the essential players.

“Every team is different. This particular team is deep. The difference between Player X and Player Y is not very much,” Daigneault said. “A lot of guys bring different things to the table. I’m of the mentality we may eventually need (someone). I think we can need Kenrich Williams in a series — maybe this one.

“I’ve had conversations with him about keeping himself ready. Just the mindset of expanding our options. It’s unfair to a guy to need him and go to him in a big spot when you have to dust him off to get him there.”

The 39-year-old referenced Aaron Wiggins’ monster performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He totaled 16 points in three quarters in OKC’s blowout win.

The backup wing has dealt with inconsistent playing time, but he’s averaged the seventh-most minutes on the Thunder since the playoffs started. When push comes to shove, Wiggins always shows out.

“Trying to keep everybody engaged. Trying to keep everybody ready. Give everybody a chance,” Daigneault said. “Wiggins is a great example last night. He was huge for us last night. I didn’t go into the game knowing that was going to be the case.

“He didn’t play until the second quarter. If you cut down to seven, maybe you’re not playing him on a given night. It’s what we’ve done all year. It’s what we trust.”

It’s an interesting and unconventional approach toward the playoffs that has worked so far. Daigneault has stuck to his guns and continues to coach postseason games as he did in the Thunder’s 57-win campaign.

That doesn’t mean Daigneault is locked into this mindset though. If the situation calls for it, the Coach of the Year winner is not afraid to shake up his strategy in hopes of collecting wins.

“There’s no shame in adjusting to your opponent. Sometimes, if the cost outweighs the benefit, you adjust based on what your opponent is doing,” Daigneault said. “We don’t really care who dictates the terms. Sometimes we do it, sometimes the opponent does it. We’re trying to figure out what the best thing for the team is.”

The Thunder are off to a hot start in their core’s playoff debut. They haven’t lost a game in over a month. Daigneault deserves a significant chunk of the credit for OKC’s success as his outside-the-box thinking gives it an edge.

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Kyrie Irving details Lu Dort’s defense after Thunder’s Game 1 blowout win

Kyrie Irving details Lu Dort’s defense after Thunder’s Game 1 blowout win.

Fighting through screens all night, Lu Dort might as well have been glued to Luka Doncic.

The biggest matchup of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks involves Doncic and Dort. It’s a one-on-one war between an MVP finalist and one of the best perimeter defenders.

Through one game, Dort won a battle. In the Thunder’s Game 1 blowout win, Doncic had his worst playoff game. He was limited to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting and went 1-of-8 from 3.

The 25-year-old superstar struggled to create space from Dort. Several screen attempts proved wasteful for Dallas. While Doncic is simply too good to be held to under 20 points all series, Dort did exactly what the Thunder hoped by making Doncic earn his buckets with 19 points on 19 shots.

Doncic’s co-star Kyrie Irving, who had a quiet 20 points, went into detail about Dort’s rise to one of the more prominent on-ball defenders in the league.

“Lu’s been a great defender since he walked into this league; he’s got to be given his credit and respect,” Irving said. “I think he causes a lot of issues when he’s pressuring the ballhandler 94 feet for practically the whole game.

“That’s something that we have to be aware of, but he’s not the only good defender out there. I don’t think what makes him great is just him individually. I think it’s the team game that they play, and he does a great job of being the head of that.

“But for me and my teammates, we just have to continue to attack him and continue to play downhill in a way where we play off of two feet. … This Game 1 is done, we didn’t play as well as we would have liked. We failed on a lot of our coverages, and we didn’t come in with the attitude that was necessary to get this W. …

“I had too many turnovers tonight, especially in that first quarter, just trying to get my guy settled. So there are some things to look back on, but the defensive pressure is not going to stop. So we just got to adjust.”

Through five games, OKC’s defense has been stellar in the postseason. It has yet to allow 100 points by an opponent. This will be a challenge Doncic will have to overcome if the Mavericks hope to advance past this round.

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Jason Kidd impressed by what Sam Presti has built with the Thunder

Jason Kidd impressed by what Sam Presti has built with the Thunder.

Social media recently uncovered a gem: a 16-year-old Sam Presti vouching for the Boston Celtics to draft Jason Kidd in 1994.

Presti campaigned via the Boston Globe why the Celtics should draft Kidd. He mentioned his playmaking and basketball IQ as reasons they should add him to their roster.

The Celtics didn’t have a chance to prove Presti right or wrong. Kidd was taken with the No. 2 pick by the Dallas Mavericks and the Celtics settled for Eric Montross with the No. 9 selection.

Before the Thunder’s Game 1 win over the Mavericks, Kidd, who is now the Dallas head coach, agreed with Presti’s assessment from 30 years ago.

“He was right,” Kidd joked.

The 10-time All-Star enjoyed a successful career as one of the best point guards of his era. A second stint with the Mavericks as a player was rewarded with a championship in 2011.

Kidd hopes to bring Dallas another ring but as the head coach. In his third season, this might be his best shot yet to realize his ambition.

Kidd coaches arguably the best star duo in the league. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had a monster postseason debut in their first-round win over the LA Clippers. Each averaged 25-plus points.

They’ll need to continue to do that against the Thunder, who Kidd has had his fair share of postseason battles as a former player. The Mavericks defeated OKC in the 2011 Western Conference finals en route to a championship. The next year, OKC avenged the loss by sweeping Dallas in the first round.

The one constant from those 2011 and 2012 Thunder squads and this season’s is Presti. He’s one of the longest-tenured GMs in the league and is widely considered one of the best in his business.

Kidd praised the Thunder’s general manager, saying he’s done an incredible job at cracking open another championship window with this second iteration of OKC.

“It’s amazing what he has built here,” Kidd said. “Not just this team, but the teams that have come before this. He has an eye for talent and has done it at a very high level.”

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