Thunder drop third straight, 104-98

Royce Young -

BOX SCORE

The Thunder are now 3-3. They’ve lost three straight. Those three games: Second of a back-to-back in Houston, last night at home blowing a fourth quarter lead to the 5-0 Raptors, and on the second of a back-to-back in Chicago. That’s after winning three straight to start the season. Those games: Beat the Spurs at home, beat the scrappy Magic on a miracle in Orlando, stomped the Nuggets in OKC.

So, with seven percent of the schedule played, do we really know anything yet?

Yes. And no. Mostly no, though.

Some of what we’ve seen is annoyingly similar to what’s plagued the team in the past — the heavy reliance on isolation late in games, the lack of overall trust in guys not named Russell or Kevin, the inconsistency on the defensive end. Specifically, those three things were influential in what happened Thursday against the Bulls.

After the Thunder tied the game 94-94 with 3:11 left, the Bulls scored on five consecutive possessions to close the game, before Jimmy Butler missed a jumper with nine seconds left. In fact, extend that to 4:24, where the Thunder had come back from 10 down and tied it 90-90, it was seven straight. The last five were prominently Derrick Rose operating in isolation, catching the Thunder in bad switches. Rose, who entered the game shooting 33.9 percent from the field and had scored in single digits his last three games, hit an eight-foot runner, a 15-foot jumper, two free throws, another wing banked jumper, and a 16-foot pull-up, before Pau Gasol sealed it with a post-up on a bad switch over Russell Westbrook.

So, naturally there’s a focus on what happened offensively and where the Thunder lost their way. But this game was about stops, or the lack thereof. The Thunder actually improved in a lot of ways offensively, especially in ball security (just nine turnovers). The shots they got were largely good, except for only 13 3-point attempts. Kevin Durant was very good with 33 on 13-29, Westbrook solid with 20 (7-18) and 10 assists. Serge Ibaka was involved more, scoring 17 on 8-14. There wasn’t much production from the secondary pieces (Kanter had 11, next highest player had six and that was Steven Adams).

I look at the Thunder’s last six trips, and I don’t dislike all that much about them. They’re just about what you’d want. Four points in the final three minutes ain’t great, but the looks weren’t bad, and there was even one really nice set that resulted in a clean free throw line look for Ibaka with Westbrook making an unselfish play, which I really liked.

It really just was the defense, man. In basketball, you’re often at the mercy of if it goes in or doesn’t, and Rose, who has been terrible so far this season, made shots he’s been missing. That sort of thing happens, but the principles the Thunder were operating with weren’t good. Part of that was because Adams sat out the fourth with a sore back, leaving Enes Kanter on the floor to close. Donovan stayed with his offensive big instead of going with Nick Collison and Ibaka, or even small. That enabled the Bulls to pick-and-roll OKC to death, taking advantage of the switching scheme the Thunder were inexplicably using. Donovan said postgame that some of that wasn’t intended, but was just in-the-moment reaction by players to what was happening. Still: The Bulls didn’t have to work all that hard to get Kanter on an island, or Westbrook caught on Gasol.

So, the real question: Should you panic? I think it’s fair to worry. Maybe to even panic a tad bit. There’s a lot of focus on this team right now, and a lot of unknowns everywhere. They’re undergoing changes, or at least saying they are, and in a lot of ways this is a whole new roster. Keep in mind, Kanter and Durant hadn’t played a single official minute together before Oct. 28. There’s a lot of learning on the fly happening, and it’s no guarantee all of it is going to work.

At the same time, it’s super early. That’s the Thunder’s only four-in-five-nights stretch for the season, and they played three contender-ish teams during it. Losing three straight feels real bad, but there are still 76 more games to go. Just like you told yourself to pump the brakes after beating the Spurs on opening night, do the same after losing this one to the Bulls.

NOTES:

  • Let’s talk about Andre Roberson briefly. I’m on record saying I’d prefer Anthony Morrow start, mainly because it’s a way to have him on the floor for more than five minutes. Clearly, there’s an organizational belief in Roberson that extends past Scott Brooks or Billy Donovan, and while developing him as a potential 3-and-D player is a noble effort, and one that may pay eventual dividends, it’s also creating some obvious, glaring issues. Roberson is a really good defender, but he’s not elite. And with that, you have to ask, is his defense so good it outweighs everything else? I’m not sure about that. Jimmy Butler worked him over pretty well tonight. If he’s a stopper, where’s the stopping?
  • Serge Ibaka knocked down his first 3 of the season. Just his fourth attempt, too. I think he needs to be taking more.
  • In five minutes, Anthony Morrow was a -13. I think he should play more, yes, but in those five minutes, his defense was putrid. Like whoa bad.
  • Dion Waiters played 27 minutes and only took three shots. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I thought he was a bit too passive.
  • The Thunder lineup to start the fourth was horrible — Augustin, Waiters, Morrow, Collison and Kanter. Didn’t take long for the Bulls to go up 10. Westbrook and Durant came back in, and got it back to within two after only two minutes.
  • Donovan clearly wanted this one. He played Durant 41 minutes, Ibaka 40 and Westbrook 39.
  • D.J. Augustin was really good in the first couple games, but he’s been equally as poor the last few. I can’t help but wonder if Cameron Payne should get a little look. Just a little one.
  • Mitch McGary is caught in a numbers game, but I’m certainly curious if he would’ve impacted the game more in nine minutes than Nick Collison did.
  • The turnovers coming down and the reduction in fouling were positive things.
  • Here’s my thing, and I wrote this after the game last night: If you’re frustrated about seeing the same things you saw under Brooks, isn’t it fair to ask yourself what the common denominator is? Yes, Donovan was brought in for those reasons, but old habits die hard. Real hard.
  • It really is comical how fast some can react. Like, beat the Spurs on opening night feel great, start 3-0. Fast forward to tonight, and I seriously had multiple people asking if Donovan is bad. Real tweet from someone: “Clearly Donovan’s system is not working and his rotations have been awful.” I mean.
  • Man, listening to Barkley the entire game was something, wasn’t it?
  • To recap one of Barkley’s points, he criticized Westbrook for going 100 percent all the time. He also said Durant and Westbrook need to get to the line more. Shall I look up the numbers for you, Sir Charles. They aren’t even advanced!
  • Maybe my favorite moment of the season so far was when Barkley was talking about the Bulls’ offense and stopped mid-sentence as Waiters launched a 21-foot stepback to say, “That’s an awful shot right there.”
  • Kanter played 22 minutes tonight. I can’t decide if that was too much, or way too little.
  • The Thunder’s next three games: home against the Suns, at the Wizards, home against the 76ers. Those feel like three big games.

Next up: Home against the Suns on Sunday