Basketball Intelligence for 4/24/24
Doncic's defense, Siakam and McDaniels' big games, and more
PLAYOFFS
OKC-NOP
The Thunder have a defensive rebounding problem. It’s a calculated gamble
Anthony Slater, The Athletic
But within the conversation with Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, the topic shifted to Oklahoma City’s trouble closing possessions with a defensive rebound. Daigneault, the likely NBA Coach of the Year and an honest interview, broke down the team’s philosophy in detail.
“Definitely concerned,” he said. “You never want to resign yourself to being bad at anything. So we’re constantly looking for ways to win some of the margins on the defensive glass. The NBA has a blockout stat. And for a while we were leading the league in blockouts, while we were last in the league in rebounding. So we’ve really learned a lot about rebounding in this process and tried to win on the margins. We had a little bit of a relapse at the beginning of January, but we had a run in December where we were like league average. From where we were, it was great. It’s all trade-offs.”
Will Pelicans Look Inside For Advantage Vs Thunder in Game 2?
Staff, The Bird Writes
Thunder leaning into depth vs. Pelicans in Game 2
Staff, Field Level Media
The key Game 2 storylines for the Celtics, Heat, Pelicans and Thunder
Staff, ESPN