The Timberwolves host the Oklahoma City Thunder as Westbrook and co. look to avenge their home court loss on Sunday. What do the Thunder beat writers think?
For this edition of rival’s perspective, I was lucky enough to get TWO Oklahoma City Thunder viewpoints about their game with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. I know, I know. I outdid myself this time.
1. After losing on a buzzer beater on their home floor, will Russell Westbrook and Co. be coming for blood and try to return the favor in Minneapolis?
Jon Hamm via Daily Thunder (@JonMHamm):Yes, but don’t take it personally. Westbrook is always out for blood and for returning favors, so much that it sometimes consumes him. Plus, these two teams could be jostling for playoff positioning later in the season. The Thunder would like to get that loss back, especially since the first game ended in controversial fashion.
Brett Dawson via The Oklahoman (@BDawsonWrites): Yes and no. These guys are pros, and I don’t think one regular season loss – especially in the figuring-it-out phase OKC is in – adds a whole lot of fuel to the fire. But the ending is fresh in their minds, and so are the mistakes they made, and I think they’ll be a little extra locked in from that standpoint.
Brian Sampson via Dunking With Wolves (@BrianSampsonNBA): I agree with the assessment that Westbrook is always out for blood. That’s his type of personality and it’s what makes him so great. I think he will be aggressive especially early on, as he knows Minnesota is coming off two embarrassing losses and could go down easily if they fall behind big right away.
2. What will the Thunder do differently against the Timberwolves in this matchup?
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Jon: Lost in the madness of the final few seconds of Sunday’s game was the fact that the rebuilt Thunder actually looked comfortable for the first time this season. There is a feeling-out period whenever three or more star players are brought together, and Oklahoma City is still working through that. I don’t think they’ll do anything differently, necessarily, other than perhaps try and get Paul George a few easy looks early. He’s off to a shaky start, hitting only 38 percent of his shots and 30 percent from deep. He fouled out in only 19 minutes against Indiana on Wednesday night. Westbrook may try to get to him early in the game to see if he can get George into rhythm.
Brett: I think the main focus will be on looking at that fourth quarter – and specifically what worked defensively there – and trying to replicate it a little earlier. Paul George was sort of a terror at that end in the fourth, and I think OKC would like to see him playing that way from the jump. You might also see the personnel change a little. Terrance Ferguson didn’t play in the first meeting, and he might see a few minutes on Friday. And Patrick Patterson is still settling in after missing the preseason. He looked a little more like himself against Indiana on Wednesday.
Brian: I’m not sure there’s anything the Thunder need to do differently this time arond. They figured things out in the fourth quarter and almost erased a 13-point deficit. Even with a bad shooting night from Paul George OKC was one great shot away from leaving with a victory. If I’m Oklahoma City I’d continue to put Karl-Anthony Towns in as many pick-and-rolls as possible.
3. If you were the Timberwolves head coach, how would you stop the Spain pick-and-rolls that OKC thrived on late in the game on Sunday?
Here’s a little background information as to what a Spain pick-and-roll is: It begins like a normal ball screen where a big man sets a screen at the top of the key (or anywhere really) and the ball-handler dribbles off it like normal. Where it differs, however, is then another player screens the screener and pops to the 3-point line. This opens up the lane for the roll-man and gives the ball-handler another option in passing the ball to pop man. I break it down starting at the 3:52 mark here:
Brett: I’m not the sort to give coaching advice to Tom Thibodeau, who’s forgotten way more about defense than I’ll ever know. The Thunder has great offensive personnel, and the space that Paul George and Carmelo Anthony provide has unlocked a lot in the pick-and-roll. Spain pick-and-rolls are tricky, especially when OKC is doing it with, say, Abrines on the floor, taking away a spot from which you can help (as opposed to when Roberson is on the court and teams can leave him in the corner). It seems like one big key to defending it is that the ball-screen defender can’t get hit on the backscreen, if that makes sense. He’s got to know it’s coming and work to avoid it. Otherwise, you can get put in a real bind.
Brian: This is going to be a huge part of the game as Minnesota struggled to defend it during crunch time. Going back further, Minnesota has struggled to defend the pick-and-roll all year. Getting back to the Spain PnR specifically, one of the best ways I’ve seen it defended is to switch on the screens which isn’t Minnesota’s forte. I think it’s worth it on Tom Thibodeau’s part to explore switching however, as it gives the Thunder a different look.
4. What was your biggest takeaway from their first game on Sunday?
Jon: Andrew Wiggins is making the leap. When a young player gets a big contract extension, fans tend to wring their collective hands. But rarely does a rookie scale extension go bad. He didn’t play well at all in Minnesota’s next game against Indiana, but he looked awfully impressive in Oklahoma City. And that was all before he nailed the game-winning shot.
Brian: Minnesota isn’t going to have their same fourth quarter struggles as we’ve seen in the past. This team, with Jimmy Butler at least, appears to possess more grit and determination. It looks as if Butler will be back for tonight’s game so that grit, which completely disappeared the last two games, should return.