Thunder are the only NBA team to reach this eye-opening stat
Yesterday at 06:18 PM
All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are among the best defensive teams in the NBA this season and one of the most efficient offenses. Gilgeous-Alexander credited Lu Dort and Cason Wallace for their suffocating defense, especially lately. However, the Thunder are the only team with fewer turnovers (265) than steals (292), and all four Thunder players are key catalysts leading the NBA in an incredible feat.
It's a ratio no other NBA team can relate to, as their collective efforts could be a reason for head coach Mark Daigneault to stick with inserting Wallace to join the rest of the three in his starting lineup. Williams (49) leads the team in steals thus far, with Dort (44), Wallace (43), and Gilgeous-Alexander (42) trailing closely. With Daigneault's starting five, plus Isaiah Hartenstein, playing at such a high level on both ends of the floor, the Thunder head coach may have found his new permanent lineup while Chet Holmgren's on the mend.
Dort, who was mainly defending Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in Tuesday's 118-104 NBA Cup quarter-final victory, understood the assignment — holding the Mavs' leading scorer to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. For Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu and Wallace's defense made all the difference in Tuesday's game.
"It's more impressive to hold them that low than it is for me to get 39 points. To hold those two to that low really gave us a chance to win the game," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We felt like we had control of the game and the rhythm of the game because of that. Obviously, those guys have a big imprint on them offensively.
"Keeping those two in check like that is very rare. I don't know if that'll happen again. But hat's off to those two; they took the assignment and passed the test tonight."
Mark Daigneault reacts to Thunder's continuous defensive effort
While the rest of the NBA world remained in awe, coach Mark Daigneault was unfazed by the Thunder's defense on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
Daigneault says his team's been defending at this level for a while.
"We've played like this for a good stretch of time now. So, this didn't feel different to me at all," Daigneault said. "I thought we were pretty primed up with our last week, our west-coach trip. We've been playing hard and together for a sustained stretch of time right now. And we were able to draw on that tonight, which was very helpful obviously in the game."
The Bucks or the Hawks will face the winner between the Thunder and Rockets in Saturday's semifinals.
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