The Oklahoma City Thunder has been a model of efficiency all season, on and off the court.
Whatever decision there is to be made, it has typically been the right one. That’s what makes Monday’s playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets all the more shocking.
With a three-point lead late in the game, OKC coach Mark Daigneault elected to employ a late-game fouling strategy with more than 10 seconds left in the game. The strategy works when the Thunder makes its free throws, and it did — until it didn’t. With nine seconds left, Chet Holmgren missed both free throws, giving Denver the ball down one with plenty of time to get a look. Former OKC guard Russell Westbrook grabbed the rebound and got out on the fastbreak, eventually finding a wide-open Aaron Gordon streaking down the sideline.
Pull-up, swish.
Gordon canned an uncontested 3 to give Denver a 121-119 lead with two seconds left, and with no timeouts left due to the strategy of fouling, calling a timeout and advancing the ball, only not to be able to find Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the key moments of the game, OKC had nothing to do except throw up a prayer.
“The backcourt fouls hurt us,” Daigneault said. “We can learn from fouling up 3, that’s on me. …it’s probably too early on my part. But that’s not on the players. They’re executing what I’m telling them to do.”
Whoever was at fault, the loss was inexcusable for a team that has had very few inexcusable moments during a historically dominant season.
The late-game fouling wasn’t the only crucial mistake made by Daigneault.
With 3:48 remaining and the Thunder leading by nine, Gilgeous-Alexander committed a foul in the backcourt on Nikola Jokic. The timing of the blown whistle made the call seem like a challengeable offense, but when the play was slowed down, it was clear that Gilgeous-Alexander had committed the foul.
Gilgeous-Alexander knew it, and when he saw Daigneault signaling for the challenge, he begged the former NBA Coach of the Year not to do it. But the damage was done.
The Thunder lost its challenge and timeout, two things that would’ve come up big in a game in which OKC needed one last opportunity to advance the ball a few minutes later.
The hiring of Daigneault has been a resounding success for the Thunder.
He has emerged as one of the unique minds in the NBA coaching ranks in his five seasons. His larger-than-normal rotations and prowess in challenging calls make him one of the best the league has to offer. That said, Monday night was an example of when creativity goes wrong.
Hindsight is 20/20, but as it was unfolding, Daigneault’s decision to play the free-throw game when his team had been struggling from the line felt like a disaster waiting to happen. The ball finding someone other than Gilgeous-Alexander seemed all but inevitable, and when it finally happened, an already struggling Holmgren clanked both of his free throws, and the rest is history.
OKC started this season 72-14 for a reason. It has one of the best players in the world, a deep bench loaded with decision-makers and, despite a rough showing Monday, one of the best coaches and second and third options in the NBA.
The Thunder could well win Game 2. It could even win by a lot. But Monday’s loss will always be an unforgivable, gross example of a team that usually played its hand perfectly trying to outsmart the room.
Sometimes, the room doesn’t need outsmarting. Had OKC let Denver run its offense, the data suggests that Denver wouldn’t have been able to find a 3-pointer to make, as even with Gordon’s game-winner, the Nuggets shot 30% from 3. The easy path to take is trusting your all-time defense to make a play when it needs to most, and even if Denver had made a 3, OKC would’ve had two timeouts and the score would’ve been tied.
Daigneault went off the beaten path, as he has successfully so many times during his tenure atop the Thunder. This time, it failed and now his team has to live with the consequences of giving up home-court advantage to a team that has the best player in the world.
