Luguentz Dort‘s smothering defense on Brandon Ingram has made him the MVP of the Thunder‘s first-round series so far, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. With Zion Williamson sidelined by a strained hamstring, the Pelicans need Ingram to carry a larger-than-usual share of the offensive load. Dort has made that impossible, holding Ingram in check as Oklahoma City has built a 3-0 series lead.
“My main thing is just to make everything tough,” Dort said. “Whatever I gotta do, if it’s a crazy contest or just running by a guy, anything that I can do to mess up a shot I’ll do it.”
Dort has been an impactful defender since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2019. Coach Mark Daigneault calls him “relentless” on defense and says he has learned tricks over the past five seasons that have made him even better.
“Some of the stuff with Ingram, even off-ball … he’s just giving the guy different looks,” Daigneault explained. “That’s not the scouting report. That’s just us kind of unleashing him on the game. There’s more of a method to that madness than maybe meets the eye.”
There’s more on the Thunder:
- Jalen Williams survived an injury scare after being hit in the eye on the first possession of today’s game, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press. Williams was taken to the locker room to have his eye checked, but he was able to return late in the first quarter and wound up scoring 21 points. “Dub’s very talented,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was clearly big tonight, very impressive and nothing we’re not used to.”
- With the series well in hand, the Thunder’s biggest concern might be finishing off the Pelicans too quickly, suggests John Hollinger of The Athletic. Game 4 is Monday, and if OKC completes the sweep, the team could have up to eight days off before its second-round series begins. Counting the time off after the end of the season, the Thunder may end up playing just four games in a three-week stretch.
- The Thunder have figured out how to capitalize on the trend of positionless basketball that has swept the NBA over the last few years, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated. Stiles notes that virtually every player on Oklahoma City’s roster can do something to create plays on offense. “I think one of the things that I think is pretty evident, especially when you watch the playoffs — the teams that are the most formidable in the NBA are the ones that offensively have multiple creators,” Daigneault said.
Lets put the too much time off narrative to bed please. You always want the sweep/rest no matter what; zero exceptions…EVER
Exactly. You play to win.
Funny the NBA double standard on that. Get the sweep because you just want to win, but lose games on purpose at the end of the regular season to get a more favourable 1st round matchup.
Yeah, this isn’t baseball. Every team would love to have as much rest as possible at this point.
You’re absolutely right but the challenge is going 150% after you’re up 2-0, 3-0. Easier said than done, you’re going to slip a little bit, it’s just the nature of the beast.
Keeping your foot on the gas up 3-0 is very very challenging.
You ply the extra games your just putting yourself and injury risk.