Thunder 101, Raptors 103: The Day After Report
Nuggets and Notes
- The Thunder lost in painful fashion, dropping their second straight home game to the Raptors after leading the Raptors for most of the fourth quarter.
- Poor late-game execution failed the Thunder, as the team struggled to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander opportunities to score or make Toronto pay for overplaying him. SGA only got one clean shot off all fourth quarter, and the other Thunder players missed 12 of 19 in the final frame.
- Some of the execution lowlights: a missed free throw from Shai, Scottie Barnes blocking Chet Holmgren's attempt to tie in the final minute, and Barnes out-muscling Jaylin Williams for a tap-out offensive rebound to seal the game after a Toronto missed free throw.
- Over the last two seasons, OKC has survived long stretches while being shorthanded in the frontcourt. They're still shorthanded in the frontcourt: Isaiah Hartenstein is still out with a calf strain, and both small-but-big forwards Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso remain out with hamstring and groin strains, respectively. But Ajay Mitchell is now injured, so the Thunder frontcourt is also decimated without Mitchell and JDub behind SGA.
- Aware of said decimation, Toronto blitzed Shai all game, forcing Aaron Wiggins and others to make plays against a long, fast Raptors defense scrambling to recover. Shai selectively attacked (8-11 FG, 8-10 FT) and deferred (6 assists, approx. 600 potential assists) to his teammates, who actually fared pretty well in creating healthy looks all night (more on that later).
- In their 10th loss of the season, the rotation was different but the problem was familiar: the Thunder just couldn't convert their good looks. OKC went 11-43 from deep. OKC generates the third-most wide-open shots of any team in the league, but has the 9th-worst eFG% on those shots.
- And it wasn't just about who was taking the shots. Isaiah Joe and Wiggins combined to go 2-16 from three, and Chet was 0-3.
- The Raptors found just enough daylight on offense, with OKC's defense dialed down from frenetic and suffocating to disciplined and competent (especially once Cason Wallace exited the game with another injury). The Thunder only forced 11 turnovers while giving up a customary 12 offensive rebounds.
One Key Takeaway: Blaming Injuries
Whether you want to call it an excuse or an explanation, Oklahoma City won't keep winning 80% of its games when Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell, and Alex Caruso are all missing.
The Thunder are currently in worse shape than the first half of last season, when Holmgren's hip injury coincided with Hartenstein's extensive absences. OKC has held up on defense despite the tattered roster, but the offense has nosedived. Their 108.6 ORTG against the Pacers and Raptors would be second-worst in the NBA.
They could've won. Had they done so, I would've written a recap praising Kenrich Williams' influence on the scrappy, shooting-challenged Thunder. On the whole, OKC proved capable of moving the ball and finding quality shots despite the dearth of creators. Even Ousmane Dieng served as a touch-pass cog in the non-SGA machine, racking up 4 assists. But Kenrich and Dieng combined to go 2-10 from three, and those scrappy Thunder went 1-10 from deep all fourth quarter.
Whether a specific play or substitution decision would've went differently and changed this game's outcome, the biggest takeaway is that OKC needs its best shot creators and best shot makers back if it's going to be the best team in basketball.
