This Thunder is definitely very surprising this season. Leader of the Western Conference despite one of the youngest squads in the league, Oklahoma City won in Phoenix on Sunday after a new gap. For the second time this season, OKC conceded a series with a differential of more than 30 points (39-8), after the crazy 30-0 won by Dallas on December 3. And as is often the case, Mark Daigneault's men were dominated in the fight for rebounds, with Jusuf Nurkic untenable. However, it was the Thunder who left Arizona victorious.
The visitors resisted the 31 rebounds of Nurkic, player symbol of the domination of the Suns (50 holds to 41). Nothing to doubt Oklahoma City, now accustomed to doing so. If the Thunder is at the top of the West, it is at the bottom of the hierarchy in this sector: 27th in defensive rebound per game, 29th in offensive rebound, and worst differential in the league in offensive rebound compared to its opponents!
A matter of “compromise”
“ We lose the rebound battle a lot of evenings, but as long as the profit continues to weigh more than the loss, we will continue to accept this compromise » summarized Mark Daigneault after the meeting. “ We won't be a perfect team, and in the end this sport goes way beyond rebounds. If we try to correct every problem, then we will end up fighting against our own shadow. »
In this strategic choice, the Thunder compensated by crushing another battle, that of lost balls: 5 against 21 for Phoenix! Five like the total of Jusuf Nurkic alone, who if he gorged himself on rebounds to the point of signing the rebound record in the history of his franchise, also suffered from numerous defensive rotations, partly due to the mobility of his “big men”. And Daigneault chose not to rely on Bismack Biyombo, recruited during the season and a rare “traditional” pivot in the squad, to slow down Phoenix (seven minutes of play on Sunday).
Oklahoma City also relies on its skill, one of the very best in the league (50.1% 2nd in the NBA) to avoid paying too much for its deficit near the hoop. And the recipe is paying off, with the possibility of finishing at the top of the Western Conference for the first time since 2012-2013.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 58 | 34.5 | 54.8 | 39.2 | 88.2 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 31.2 |
| Jalen Williams | 53 | 32.0 | 54.4 | 44.7 | 80.7 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 19.3 |
| Chet Holmgren | 59 | 30.2 | 54.4 | 39.8 | 78.4 | 1.6 | 6.2 | 7.7 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 17.2 |
| Josh Giddey | 58 | 24.6 | 44.7 | 32.1 | 82.1 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 11.2 |
| Luguentz Dort | 57 | 28.4 | 43.9 | 39.6 | 81.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 10.7 |
| Isaiah Joe | 55 | 18.6 | 47.4 | 43.0 | 85.0 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 8.4 |
| Cason Wallace | 59 | 20.5 | 50.5 | 41.3 | 79.3 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 6.7 |
| Aaron Wiggins | 56 | 14.3 | 57.5 | 51.2 | 78.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 6.2 |
| Kenrich Williams | 48 | 14.6 | 45.9 | 39.8 | 30.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| Ousmane Dieng | 29 | 11.2 | 42.6 | 31.3 | 87.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 4.1 |
| Jaylin Williams | 50 | 12.6 | 39.4 | 36.2 | 82.1 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.8 |
| Tre Mann | 13 | 9.2 | 50.0 | 42.1 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| Vasilije Micic | 30 | 12.0 | 40.7 | 24.4 | 73.7 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| Davis Bertans | 15 | 6.1 | 38.5 | 41.7 | 93.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Lindy Waters III | 25 | 6.8 | 44.2 | 43.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 |
| Gordon Hayward | 5 | 14.4 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
| Olivier Sarr | 13 | 6.9 | 55.6 | 33.3 | 69.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.4 |
| Keyontae Johnson | 9 | 7.4 | 31.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Aleksej Pokusevski | 10 | 6.0 | 25.0 | 18.2 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 2 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Adam Flagler | 1 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
