- The Thunder lost badly at home to the backup Bucks and were blown to smithereens by Bobby Portis, AJ Green and the one and only Ousmane Dieng. While Giannis cheered in street clothes, Milwaukee’s roster rained three (17-42) on Oklahoma City, which was missing Ajay Mitchell and three starters (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein).
- OKC hung in there and hung around with mediocre volume from deep (15-45), but was atrocious in the paint (42.4%) and lost the turnover battle. The game got away from the Thunder as Milwaukee built their lead into double digits at the half and kept it out of reach through the third and fourth quarters.
- Chet Holmgren (16 pts, 13 rbs, 4 ast, 2 blk) was cold from three (0-4) but held the frontcourt together with Isaiah Hartenstein.
- I’m working with John on Chet’s development: I want to see him challenged more as a goalscorer, especially now that Shai is out. He’s not as polished or as comfortable as he could be as a creator, but he still has the length and feel to turn shaky drives into points.
- Without OKC’s top three playmakers in the lineup, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Jared McCain had some success moving the ball on the perimeter and creating shots. They went five-out a lot and made eight more threes than average. But only Joe (17 points, 4-9 from three) really broke through enough to match Milwaukee’s performance.
- “What if we just put Isaiah Joe on a Klay Thompson shot diet?” I want answers to this question regardless of the injury context surrounding OKCs First Philly sharpshooting hand-me-down.
- Joe had a scary non-contact spill in the first quarter. He eventually got up to finish the play gingerly and finished the play. Phew.
- Very cool moment: Loud City gave Nikola Topic a standing ovation when he checked in. His recovery dates back almost two years, when he tore his ACL as he was about to be drafted into the NBA.
- But Topic wasn’t there to sing kumbaya. He was impressed “Let’s go” out Brent Barry on a quick assist, making his first career shot. From then on it was all uphill for Topic (3 turnovers and 2 missed shots), but he played with feeling and aggression, making some of his passes more sauce than his teammates expected. I’m hyped for his development.
- Ousmane Dieng: 19 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, 5 shares. Ous continued his strong play for Milwaukee after being traded away from OKC before the deadline
- I’m still pretty sure the Thunder sold high on Dieng. Only time will tell.
- I love the Prime broadcast and I won’t hear any slander from Bones. While they’ve been a big supporter of the league all season, the Prime crew dedicated an entire pregame segment with a Within the NBA-esque eyebrow patting of today’s All-Stars from the retired players behind the desk. The hypocrisy is deserved, and it is less unpleasant when it is offset by the appreciation of the sport by the same voices. Remember, Charles Barkley was once a refreshingly honest critic. Dirk and Blake aren’t old-timers yet, and it helps that they still watch the games they talk about.
One key takeaway: All-Star halftime
Jared McCain was just named in the celebrity 3-point shootout (lol) and Holmgren will be in the main event. As much as I hope that the pressure on the All-Stars to, you know, attempt works this year, I have to admit I’m terrified that Chet could get hurt as he reignites the competitive spirit alongside established (Wemby) and fellow first-timers (looking at you, Jalen Johnson and Jalen Duran) who put the old heads and Euros to shame by bending their knees or sprinting during a nationally televised basketball game. It feels silly to advocate controlled aggression with a psychopath like Chet, but a boy can dream.
Oklahoma City needs to get healthy. Sure, they also need JDub to shoot better and everyone needs to rebound better and secure home field advantage. But to defend the title, priorities A & B & C & D & E are playing Shai, JDub, Chet, IHart and Ajay in the postseason. Hopefully they’ll all be okay for good after the All-Star break.
#Thunder #Bucks #Day #Report