Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said following the team’s surprise win over the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Sunday that the team is rostered by players who are trying to keep their NBA dream alive.
“We’ve got guys playing for their careers, and you can’t underestimate that,” said Daigneault.
This fact can easily be lost during these last few weeks as fans beg for losses in every game. While it’s best for the franchise’s long-term future to lose as many games as possible and that most — if not all — of the current players who are healthy in Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Theo Maledon, Aaron Wiggins, Vit Krejci, Isaiah Roby, Lindy Waters III, Olivier Sarr and Jaylen Hoard will be with the Thunder in the long run, it’s still unrealistic to ask them to lay down and take a beating or get upset at them for doing their jobs.
The Thunder have excellent coaching and that is currently a hinderance when it comes to tanking games and gaining lottery odds, but that comes with the territory of being a competent franchise with synched leadership.
