The OKC Thunder SHOWED OUT in post All-Star break VICTORY over Clippers 😮💨 | The Hoop Collective
Right well the biggest victory that uh I think happened in the NBA on the first night back from the All-Star break uh happened in Oklahoma city with the Thunder whipping the LA Clippers by 22 points in a game that was not only amongst uh you know two teams
That could contend to win the west but was determining the tiebreaker between the team in second versus a team in third they’re now they were separated by a half game coming in now it’s a game and a half um and a spectacular performance up and down the roster by
The Thunder uh Shay gildas Alexander with 31 points um Jaylen Williams the uh starting Wing not the uh Reserve big man with 18 points and spe some spectacular defense and Chad holgren you know can you call them the big three is it is it too soon yeah okay no definitely no it’s
Not too soon when they’re near the top of the west standings one guy’s an MVP Cannon the other two guys are uh clearly going to get funmax contracts on their next deals no those are their building blocks we’ll see what happens with um with the rookie of the year but you know
They could go MVP Rookie of the Year and jayen Williams could make the all defensive team they I mean that’s you know that’s that’s legit anyway Chad had 1710 three assists three blocks uh in this game and just uh spectacular performance by the thunder coming out of the gate but that’s not
What bontemps wants to talk about in this game uh oh the uswb baby that’s your music no listen we we have talked a lot this year about how important it was that Chad hongren came into training camp and started playing center right away and for all the things that that
Did for the Thunder and the biggest thing that it did in theory was get their five best players on the court Shay Josh giddy J Jaylen Williams um Chad holgren and Lou Dort been their starting five all year and we have talked on this pot a lot about the
Awkward fit of Josh giddy with that group and at some point are the Thunder going to consider making a change the first seven minutes of this game today they were getting boat raced by the Clippers with VI zubach sitting in the paint and ging Josh Giddy and really not
Guarding J gy same thing that McMahon saw the Dallas Mavericks do very effectively right before right after the trade deadline when the Thunder went into Dallas and got absolutely demolished and they just basically ignored Josh gaty the whole game to great effect and in the second half
Tonight Mark deot coach of the Thunder sits Josh giddy starts Isaiah Joe the Thunder absolutely demolished the Clippers in the second half and I think this is potentially a pretty important day in the calendar because if the Thunder going forward keep Josh giddy out of the starting lineup which to me
This sort of feels like they’ve been inching towards doing this for a while and now they finally did it whether it’s with Isaiah Joe whether it’s with case and Wallace whoever it is that they put in that spot Gordon Hayward who made his debut tonight gely points no no points I don’t think
He did have a couple rebounds yeah I mean he hadn’t played since I think Christmas basically so I mean it’ll probably take him some time to get to get into Rhythm but we were waiting for this move to happen at some point because at some point during the playoffs at minimum it
Felt like this was going to happen the fact that happened today in a game against another elite team coming out of the All-Star break this feels like a very significant moment and I think if I’m these other teams in the west I don’t like this development because I
Think the Thunder are a better and more dangerous team with that grouping they had out there to start the second half and with Josh giddy coming off the bench and I’m very curious to see if that becomes a consistent tread I told you guys when I saw them in Dallas and I’ve
Seen the Thunder several times this year I saw them lose to Minnesota when they put goar on Giddy and goar just clogged the paint up and you know destroyed them defensively in that game I saw them beat the Celtics when giddy made the Celtics pay for putting
Chris STS porzingis on him but I told you after they came through Dallas that I had pretty significant doubts about Josh giddy being able to play extensive minutes during the playoffs just for the the the it’s a tough league if unless you are a dominant on ball player who’s
Got the ball in his hands which he’s a good on ball player but he’s not gonna have the ball in his hands when you’ve got the MVP candidate uh sharing the the back court with you if you can’t shoot and you’re not a rim Runner it’s a
Really hard League to play in especially come playoff time um and like it’s not like he he’s their fifth best defender in the starting lineup as well so it’s not like well you need his defense he is one of their better rebounders and you know if it’s going to
Be an Isaiah Joe or a case Wallace like a very small team would get significantly smaller um you know that’s Hayward maybe helps right you he’s a better rebound than Hayward but Hayward sacrificing a lot of size nor would you be sacrificing a lot of uh of playmaking
Ability but I mean look they’ve got that it is a big three right SJ is an MVP candidate are probably going to be back-to-back Rookie of the Year Runner ups but guys who are like both Chet hren and jayen Williams are phenomenal two-way players that are versatile on
Both ends of the floor um Lou Dort is going to be a fixture he is their best uh Wing Defender one of the best Wing defenders in the league that’s why Wendy you said maybe jayen Williams for all defensive team I think if they’re getting an all Defensive Player of those
Yeah I don’t I don’t think I agree but I’m just saying he’s that he’s that level player if he doesn’t make it this year he might make it someday yeah and if you ask dag about him he’ll talk about a lot how hard he competes how
Great he is on defense and then you get to the fact that he’s one of the most efficient near 20 point per game scorers uh in the league but again right now the fit is awkward with giddy long term I just don’t see it well long term maybe but I I don’t
Think he’ll be taken out of the starting lineup and I do think this is the second or third time this year he’s not started the second half I think it’s something that they can go to if they um if they uh if they if they feel like the the
Need is there and you guys might be right it might be something you see in the playoffs [Applause] [Applause] bra
Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to talk through the Thunder’s huge win over the Clippers.
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18 Comments
Its about time people recognized shai. Hes been doin it since he got drafted
Why do media heads continue to talk about the Lakers and Warriors instead of the Nuggets and Thunder?
Dude they need to get a bit bigger (okc) that is.
They need to trade a few of their firsts and giddey and go get mikal bridges. You go shai bridges and dort as your 1-3 thats elite man.
I also think you trade williams next yr and something else to go get a legit 4 man to play beside chet. I juat think williams is too small to start with dort and shai get bridges makes you bigger and better defensively you can afford then to trade williams cuz giddey is nothing offe sively where bridges is legit. So flip williams and stuff and try to get a solid 4 man
We need to start talking about the OKC Thunders and the Minnesota Timberwolves more these are the top teams in the NBA and are young and are the future.
Thunder beat a Clippers team that's lower in the standings, but it's the biggest win of the night?
Magic beat the Cavs and Knicks beat the 76ers…
Shock? Hyperbole. 😊
Sign Tobias Harris in the summer or trade for Jalen Johnson. That is the mold of player the Thunder want to replace Josh Giddey. Lauri Markkanen will be too expensive. Jalen, Chet, Isaiah and Aaron Wiggins will all need to be extended. If Ousmane doesn't take a major leap next year he will likely be out.
No defense
Jaylen Williams most improved . Shai mvp .
The Thunder could use a physical 4 or 5 . Dort is only 6'3. The playoffs will be physical and Denver has that and size. Beef Stew would have been the perfect addition.
Now Giddey is not a great shooter and we knew that but he had a great rookie season and he was confident in the paint, had a nice midrange and floater game and his passing is elite. But now I don’t know if it’s the allegations or just a development hiccup but he’s struggling with the things he was excelling at. I think he should be benched and let him run the offense when SGA is off the court
Josh Giddey, YOU ARE the weakest link. Seriously though, they need rebounding. I didn't really understand the Gordon Hayward acquisition.
50 Likes!
I feel like Josh should embrace the 6th man role
As a Clippers fan I was absolutely embarrassed watching that game. The Clipper put absolutely no effort or focus towards defense. If the Clippers play like they played yesterday, lol, they'll be home early in the playoffs. They were absolutely lazy and lacked no energy, the Thunder embarrassed them and made them pay.
What happened to Giddey? Maybe he needs to lay off the high schoolers and get back to ball. He was a triple double threat, now he's back to triple singles.
Bontemps “waiting for” Joe, Wallace, Wiggins & JWill to take minutes from Giddey?
Dagnault has been doing that all year. Just compare Giddey’s minutes this year to last.
My boy Josh Giddey doing his thing too 💪