Oklahoma City Thunder to read their ‘menu’ in anticipating Phoenix Suns’ Game 2 adjustments

OKLAHOMA CITY – Limited to just 33 games in the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season by a series of injuries, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams never really developed much of a rhythm.

However, after his 22-point, seven-rebound, six-assist performance in the Thunder’s 119-84 Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns in their Western Conference first-round play-off series, he looks as if he is finally returning to form after being a key piece in last season’s championship run.

“He’s been out for so long, we knew it was going to take some time for him to get back to himself,” Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort said. “But he is now. He’s confident, real aggressive.”

The series continues on April 22 (April 23 morning, Singapore time) in Oklahoma City for Game 2.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his approach to making adjustments for the second game, after Oklahoma City built a big lead early and then maintained it on April 19 in the series opener, was an open-minded one.

“We try to look at it more like a menu and less like a prediction,” he said. “We’re not going to try to guess. You don’t know what they’re going to do.

“There’s a lot of different directions they could go in. We try to understand what all those directions are – could be different line-ups, it could be different tactics, could just be the same ones and try to execute them better. We try to account for all that, just make sure our team has contingencies.”

Among the improvements Phoenix coach Jordan Ott said his team must make in Game 2 is to avoid being in isolation against the Thunder’s defence.

While the Suns’ Dillon Brooks said the approach was a good one overall, he also said he would not avoid such matchups against fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“He’s a good defender overall, but I just like the matchup,” Brooks said. “Team Canada, we’ve been going at it for a while. I won’t forget our one-on-ones that we had in Paris. You see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defence, I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end.”

Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner in the Clutch Player of the Year award balloting, revealed on the night of April 21. He received 96 of 100 first-place votes and had 484 total points, well ahead of Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray (117) and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (116).

The guard led the NBA with 175 points that occurred in clutch time, defined as games that were within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.

Brooks had 18 points on six-of-22 shooting in Game 1, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points but hit just five of 18 from the field.

Ott said that Brooks has been one of the tone-setters for the Suns, not only through the season but also in the play-in tournament and now the play-offs as well.

“He’s been in these play-off battles. Knows that it’s a series. You gotta play with that edge. It helped us get going,” he said.

In play-off action on April 21, the Portland Trail Blazers exploited an injury to Victor Wembanyama to score an upset 106-103 victory over second seeds San Antonio Spurs.

Wembanyama exited in the second quarter after hitting his head on the court floor following a collision with Portland’s Jrue Holiday.

Scoot Henderson led Portland’s scoring with 31 points, while Holiday added 16 as the series is tied 1-1.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers produced another disciplined defensive effort to defeat the Houston Rockets 101-94 and take a surprise 2-0 lead. Lakers star LeBron James finished with 28 points, while guards Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard added 25 and 23 respectively.

In the East, Tyrese Maxey (29) and V.J. Edgecombe (30) combined for 59 points as the Philadelphia 76ers scored a series-levelling 111-97 victory on the road over the Boston Celtics. REUTERS, AFP