Thunder Views: OKC reverts back to old ways vs Pistons

All five starters finished in double figures, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double, and the Thunder blew another double digit lead. I wish we were playing two truths and a lie, but that’s not the case. After beating Golden State on Wednesday night, many, including myself, thought the Thunder season would look different from here on out. Instead, they reverted right back to their old ways, and didn’t even wait a game to do it.

Spotlight

The Thunder once led this game by 15 points, but naturally had to make it close. This team has struggled when things get tight, and last night was nothing new.

If you want to focus on one stat line from Friday night, the obvious one is from beyond the arc. OKC finished 8-32 from three while Detroit shot 14-37. The game ended on a missed triple from Westbrook, which was his ninth miss of the game. The Thunder would ultimately take six 3’s in the final two minutes, with Andre Roberson converting the only successful attempt. Yes, you read that correctly. So, whether you like it or not, 3’s were the story in Friday’s loss.

Last night wasn’t an issue of ball movement or execution, but more so a story of shots not falling. Yeah, OKC’s transition defense was suspect and they definitely could’ve gotten Paul George more involved late, but if a few more 3’s fell, we’d be having a different discussion.

And I also have to note how interesting it is for fans to freak out over Westbrook’s shot selection on the final possession. He’s hit that shot time and time again in the past, and there were no complaints whatsoever. To express displeasure with him taking it last night seems quite hypocritical to me.

Quick Rumbles

• The Thunder were 2-9 in the final two minutes last night.
• Paul George finished with 16 points, but didn’t take any of OKC’s final 14 field goals.
• Last night we got our first in-game look at the Thunder’s statement uniforms. Pretty cool if you ask me.

• Russ’ final line was 27-11-11. He was 1-10 from three, and 10-29 from the field.
• Steven Adams had another double double with 12 and 12.
• The OK3 combined for 16 points on 7-26 shooting in the fourth quarter last night.
• Crunch time has been an issue for OKC this season, but last night the ball movement was actually great. They were able to create plenty of open looks, but again, the shots just were not falling.

A Look Ahead

The Thunder will have to regroup as they travel to Dallas tonight for the back end of this Friday-Saturday slate. OKC defeated the Mavericks earlier this month in one of their less stressful games of the season.

Paul George isn’t taking the Mavs lightly: “Dallas is a sleeper where if your guards are down, they will beat you. We gotta forget about tonight. We can’t sulk going into tomorrow.”