Holmgren steps up, Mitchell orchestrates, and defense locks down as the Thunder forge a winning path without a star.
Oklahoma City notched an impressive blowout win against Cleveland despite dealing with injuries to Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein. The victory provided a clear blueprint of how the Thunder can weather the storm while Williams and Hartenstein are on the mend.
First, Chet Holmgren needs to embrace being the second option. He’s an unselfish player by nature who has no problem letting Williams be the primary scorer when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rests. However, Holmgren must be more aggressive at attacking mismatches and creating his own shots with Williams sidelined. He certainly looked the part against the Cavaliers and scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Holmgren’s face-up game in isolation was especially impressive. He was too nimble for Cleveland’s bigs and too tall for Cleveland’s wings to bother his shot.
Second, Ajay Mitchell’s playmaking remains essential to keeping the offense afloat while Gilgeous-Alexander takes a breather. The sophomore is Oklahoma City’s best ball handler, driver and passer excluding Gilgeous-Alexander, so the team will be counting on Mitchell to create clean looks for three-point shooters and cutters. He recorded nine assists off the bench versus the Cavaliers and was a huge reason behind why the Thunder went +15 during the non-Gilgeous-Alexander minutes.
Third, Oklahoma City’s defense must keep forcing turnovers at a league-leading rate in order to stop the possession battle from getting too out of hand via offensive rebounds. It’s incredibly difficult to win NBA games if the opposing team secures far more shots. Opponents have grabbed 34.1% of available offensive rebounds since Hartenstein’s injury on Dec. 28, which is the fourth-highest rate in the NBA during this span. The issue has been especially bad over the last three games, as the Rockets, Heat and Cavaliers snagged a combined 45 more offensive rebounds than the Thunder.
Finally, knocking down triples at a decent rate is a game-changer for the Thunder’s offense. It’s not a coincidence that it shot 48.9% from beyond the arc versus Cleveland and scored 136 points. In addition to putting points on the scoreboard, quality three-point shooting forces defenders to stay tethered to the arc and help less on drives. Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Mitchell subsequently receive more space to operate, thus raising the lethality of their two-point attempts. Luguentz Dort is the X Factor. He’s shooting 40.2% from deep over his last 15 games. If this trend continues, then it makes life much easier for Gilgeous-Alexander and company.