Lineup gambles and interior struggles haunted Oklahoma City in a double-overtime heartbreaker. Now, the Thunder must solve the Victor Wembanyama puzzle to salvage this Western Conference Finals clash.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was a double-overtime thriller that ended in a 122-115 Spurs victory. Victor Wembanyama and company pulled off the upset despite being without All-Star De’Aaron Fox, who missed the contest with a sprained ankle.
Here are key takeaways from the disappointing Game 1 loss.
Mark Daigneault’s Lineups and Strategies
Oklahoma City began the contest with its typical starting lineup despite concerns about spacing and defensive mobility. It looked clunky immediately, and the team fell behind 12-3 early. Daigneault subbed in Alex Caruso early and adjusted at halftime by having Cason Wallace start the second half instead of Isaiah Hartenstein. Will this change be permanent in Game 2 and beyond?
There were numerous other key rotation decisions throughout the contest. Hartenstein only logged 12 total minutes, Luguentz Dort registered 22 minutes and Isaiah Joe did not play. Aaron Wiggins also surprisingly saw three minutes of action in the early second quarter. He missed all three of his shot attempts, and San Antonio was +7 during Wiggins’ three minutes. It was a puzzling decision because Wiggins has been out of the rotation for a while and the Spurs are a poor matchup for him.
During clutch time, Daigneault rolled with a lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. This unit oozes offensive versatility and has enough defensive firepower to keep afloat. Look for these five players to close games in the future.
Meanwhile, the main strategy question entering Game 1 was whether Holmgren would guard Victor Wembanyama. Daigneault mostly had Holmgren operate as a helper off spot-up shooters and instead assigned Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso or Jaylin Williams to Wembanyama. It may behoove the Thunder to place Holmgren on Wembanyama because he held his own defensively in the individual matchup.
Thunder’s Interior Scoring
Although Oklahoma City’s three-point shooting was abysmal for most of the game, it bounced back late and finished Game 1 at 37.8% from beyond the arc. This percentage is not elite but should be good enough to win games.
On the other hand, the Thunder only made 24 of their 56 two-point attempts (42.8%). Wembanyama deserves the lion’s share of the credit because his length clearly sped up the Thunder’s drivers and cutters. But Oklahoma City also simply missed shots it usually makes. Rust was likely a factor, as the champs’ previous game occurred a week ago.
Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell Vanished
Holmgren and Mitchell dominated during the first two rounds of the playoffs, but they combined for 12 total points on 4-for-12 shooting from the field. Neither player looked comfortable against San Antonio’s physicality and length. If the Thunder are going to dig themselves out of this early hole, then Holmgren and Mitchell need to step up and be more effective as scorers.
