The Oklahoma City Thunder had a surprisingly pleasant start to their season, going 4-4 in their first eight games.
But Saturday delivered a cold reality check and showed how far away they are from reaching their goals.
In a game against the last undefeated team in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks — who were without their top two players in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton — made easy work against the Thunder in a 108-94 win.
The Bucks are 9-0 in the season.
The Bucks continue the disturbing trend of opponents shooting lights out from outside as they went 17-of-47 (36.2%) as a team. The Thunder, who entered the game with the sixth-best defensive rating at 108.3 points allowed per 100 possessions, had allowed opponents to make 14 3-pointers on 46.7% 3-point shooting in their last two games entering Saturday.
It’s hard to just shrug it off as the opposition getting hot and lucky from outside as a large portion of the Bucks’ 3-point attempts were relatively uncontested.
The Thunder shot the ball from outside well, too, going 12-of-35 (34.3%). But that’s not how they’re going to win games. The Thunder don’t have the scoring talent to consistently keep up.
The Bucks were led by Brook Lopez, who finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 4-of-9 3-point shooting. Bobby Portis grabbed 21 rebounds and Jrue Holiday dished 13 assists. Grayson Allen scored 19 points and Jevon Carter scored 18 points.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades from this 14-point loss.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C
This was probably Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s worst game of the season.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t score efficiently from the field: He finished with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Rather, it was due to his lack of aggressiveness. Despite the team numbers, the Thunder needed Gilgeous-Alexander to be more heliocentric. Instead, he continued to be a team player and allow his teammates to get their fair share of touches.
I appreciate the mindset, but Gilgeous-Alexander also has to understand that him being selfish can be a good thing for the team on nights like these.
SGA at the buzzer to tie it up at the end of the first pic.twitter.com/7xH8jPKs9m
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 6, 2022
Josh Giddey: C
Just like Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey’s box score numbers of 15 points, six rebounds and two assists look good on paper. But it was hard to notice on the court.
Giddey had a plus-minus of minus-12 in his 26 minutes. Whenever Giddey drove to the basket, he was met with a wall of Bucks defenders. Despite Giddey taking nine of his 14 attempts inside the paint, he only went 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.
It hasn’t been pretty for Giddey since his return from an ankle sprain and you have to wonder how much that has to do with the fact that he’s played some pretty tall frontcourts: the Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Bucks.
Shai strips it ➡️ Giddey gets the AND1 😤 pic.twitter.com/nGqOm4NNYd
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 6, 2022
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: C
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl might’ve had the quietest 12-point performance I’ve ever seen.
Robinson-Earl, who gained the starting nod along with Mike Muscala on the four/five spots, finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and shot 2-of-4 from three.
In the plus-minus department, Robinson-Earl was a minus-15.
While it’s not a tic-for-tac case, Bobby Portis took advantage of the three inches he has over Robinson-Earl by grabbing 21 rebounds.
Corner pocket is hot! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rCy7udy9t3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 6, 2022
Ousmane Dieng: B
To wrap up with a positive, Ousmane Dieng looked really good in his minutes off the bench.
In 22 minutes, Dieng finished with eight points, five assists and four rebounds and was a plus-11. Dieng also shot 2-of-3 from three.
With such a quality 22 minutes, it’s hard to imagine why Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t give Dieng more playing time.
Dieng knocks down the transition three 👌 pic.twitter.com/sessOmB0LK
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 6, 2022
