The Oklahoma City Thunder lost a heartbreaker 115-113 to the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night. The Thunder trailed for the majority of the game and fought all the way back, taking a 113-112 lead with 5.1 seconds remaining in the game. Andrew Wiggins banked in a 30-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to hand the Thunder their second loss in as many nights. Here are my top five observations from tonight’s theatrical Thunder loss.
1.The Thunder’s offense was awful again tonight for the majority of this game. There were lots of one guy standing with the basketball and four guys watching. The Thunder needs more ball movement or at least have guys to move better and faster without the ball. We did get a little glimpse of that in the final five or six minutes of the game. It wasn’t perfect execution, but it was certainly more deliberate. There were guys playing with a sense of urgency that we haven’t seen yet with this team. And it was because they had to. The Thunder were trailing and OKC had to make a move or suffer another loss like they did to the Jazz the night before. Russell Westbrook exploded in the fourth quarter and the team followed suit. The aggressiveness and purpose the Thunder played with in the final minutes of the game needs to be how the Thunder play all 48 minutes.
2. It’s felt like Russell Westbrook hasn’t been as aggressive in the first couple games. At least not like we are accustomed to seeing. He hasn’t been as aggressive and he hasn’t gotten downhill and attacked the basket. That was happening again tonight until the fourth quarter. Once Westbrook enters winning time, he elevates his game. Russ scored 15 of his game-high 31 in the fourth quarter. And that is exactly what the Thunder needed. Shots came easier for the Thunder when Westbrook entered attack mode. He was driving to the basket and hitting clutch three’s, much like what we saw a season ago once the game entered winning time. Russ hit shot after shot and the Thunder flashed how good they can be in those moments. The offense will come, but the Thunder needs it’s leader to play aggressively because it makes it easier for everyone else to play off him. Otherwise, we will see some really stagnant offense and the Thunder will be in trouble.
3. The biggest question about this collection of talent has been, who takes the last shot in a tight game? It took three games to get there, but we finally got to see how they’ll handle that situation. Russell came off a screen looking to attack the basket. Carmelo Anthony was on the wing, spotting up for a three. Anthony’s man had to collapse on Russell or he would have had an easy layup. That left Melo open for the three and he nailed it. Honestly, that was the absolute best the Thunder have been in executing a play all season. Many have wondered if Russell will give up the basketball in those types of situation. And tonight, I was sure he was going to take the final shot after he was red hot hitting a few three’s to keep the Thunder in the game. But he gave it up. He made the right basketball play and used Melo as a spot up shooter. It was a thing of beauty. Give Billy Donovan the credit to call the play out of a timeout. Give credit to Westbrook for executing the play. And give credit to Anthony for hitting the open look. It’s a shame that didn’t end up the game winner.
4. I have been one of Andre Roberson’s biggest defenders for the last two seasons. However, I can’t defend tonight’s game from Dre. He was flat out terrible. Just awful. To start the game he took a three incredibly early in the possession. Then he missed an open layup and a few moments later he drove to the basket and was called for a charge. As bad as that sequence was, he topped it off by air balling two straight free throws early in the third quarter. He was unplayable tonight because he let those plays effect his defense. And down the stretch the Thunder needed him as Andrew Wiggins torched the them for 12 fourth quarter points. Dre’s confidence is really low and his play is clearly affected by it. The Thunder have to have him play better or he is going to find himself sitting on the bench like he did in the second half tonight.
5. The bench really stepped up tonight. Raymond Felton really lead the Thunder off the bench, scoring 12 points on five-of-seven shooting and he went two-of-three from deep. Jerami Grant really played a nice game as well, also scoring 12 points. Grant shot an excellent four-of-five from the floor and knocked down his only three. Both guys really were a spark off the bench. Both times the Thunder’s second unit was on the floor they cut into the Wolves lead, which is completely backwards from last year. Once the Thunder get themselves on the same page with the starting five, the Thunder’s bench will be an huge asset as the season goes along.
The Thunder have a few days off before returning to action Wednesday night. It will be another emotional game as Paul George plays host to his old team, the Indiana Pacers. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
