The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game off the worst loss in the team’s history in Milwaukee. Tonight they faced the challenge of playing against the LA Clippers and the stacked lineup. It’s been rare to see Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the floor together this season and OKC got a full taste of that. This was one of those games from the Thunder where the offense wasn’t on track from the beginning. One thing about this OKC Thunder team is they pride themselves on defense and they let the defense turn into offense. Tonight the Thunder just didn’t have it and it showed. The Thunder were missing shots that usually fall for them against other opponents. Dennis Schröder was the leading scorer tonight with 24 points off the bench. Dennis was able to create his own shot and was beating the Clippers to the paint almost every time with his quick first step. Chris Paul didn’t have his usual night that we’ve been accustom too as the Clippers wanted to slow him down by putting Paul George on him defensively. The length of George and Leonard switching on CP3 did impact his game but he still finished with 7 assists on the night. The other player that struggled that hurt the OKC Thunder tonight was Danilo Gallinari as he shot 4-13 from the field. The Thunder struggled from the field with the Clippers length and depth all night. It was a tough outing from the Thunder on the offensive side as they only had 4 players in double figures. The Thunder were caught up playing catch up the whole time as they trailed by 21 points at one point in the game. OKC shot 42% from the field but needed to convert on more opportunities from inside the paint. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played well against his former team tonight adding 15 points as well. Once Shai develops that killer mentality and continues to put on the foot on the gas he will be a problem. Shai can take over a game at any point but he needs to be confident that he can do this on a nightly basis and it’s coming. This Thunder team is still in the mix and has a lot of promise. The loss tonight doesn’t define them as a team but this is a learning lesson especially for moving forward.
The LA Clippers came into OKC with a gameplan and they executed it with perfection. The combination of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is going to be a problem for anyone that has to play them. Both Paul and Kawhi finished with a combined 41 points as they willed the Clippers to victory with ease. The Clippers team is stacked from top to bottom with talent. The depth from the Clippers played a huge factor in this win over the Thunder because their second unit can actually be starters. The Clippers have Harrell and Williams on the team and both are in contention for the 6th man of the year award. The Clippers depth after George and Leonard come out the game was huge and the Thunder second unit wasn’t able to keep up. The Clippers played defense all night and their length made it tough on the Thunder. It seemed every time the Thunder was trying to get back in the game Leonard or George went on a mini-run by themselves to give the Clippers the edge. The balance that the Clippers play with and the coaching will make it tough for anyone in the playoffs. The Clippers were attacking the paint all night as they had 22-26 free throws which showed they were trying to pound the paint. Tonight the Clippers were the better team and played a complete game but the Thunder still has a lot to prove in the West. The addition of Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris was another huge part of this game because they were able to come in with offense to help that second unit. The Clippers were defending at a high level and made it tough on the Thunder throughout the night. The Thunder play in Detroit next as they try to get back in the winning column after tonight’s loss to the Clippers in OKC.
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