The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s brutal playoff blowout (the worst of their franchise’s historical past) was painful, little doubt.
However the causes behind it? Fairly simple.
“It’s not sophisticated,” stated Chet Holmgren. “Wherever they wished to go, they bought there. They did what they wished to do. We didn’t cease them.”
That about sums it up. The Timberwolves managed the sport from the beginning, and the Thunder by no means actually discovered their footing, OKC coach Mark Daigneault admitted.
“They stored their foot on the gasoline tonight, and we had been simply by no means in a position to give ourselves any traction in recreation,” stated head coach Daigneault stated. “I believed their defensive stress and physicality undoubtedly stood out early. They had been undoubtedly throwing the primary punch within the recreation.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had been dominant by means of the primary two matchups, ran right into a wall.
He ended the night time hitting simply 4 of 13 pictures, gave up 4 turnovers, and barely bought to the road — solely 4 free throw makes an attempt after taking 29 within the earlier two video games mixed.
“We had been taking the ball out of the web for almost all of the sport, in order that they get again and may set their protection,” Gilgeous-Alexander defined. “And I don’t care who you had been within the NBA — in opposition to protection, it’s exhausting to attain in the event that they’re set. Prior to now two video games, it hasn’t been that. We’ve been in a position to get stops and run and play. Whenever you take the ball out of the web each time down, it’s robust regardless.”
Defensively, the Thunder had been a shadow of the crew that had earned the league’s prime spot in that class.
They let Minnesota shoot a scorching 57.3 p.c total and 50 p.c from past the arc. To make it worse, OKC solely pressured 10 turnovers — their lowest mark within the playoffs to this point.
“You get punched, you get again up,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated. “It’s about responding, and that’s what the subsequent problem is. We bought punched within the mouth tonight. Subsequent recreation, we’re both going to get again up or not [and] we’re going to lose the sport. We’ve bought a call to make.”
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