Mark Daigneault Deploys Interesting Strategy Against Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world. Part of what makes him great is his overally savviness, which can be seen every moment that he is on the court. Even during mundane activities such as inbounding the ball.

Jokic is able to wrestle the ball away from refs in a blink and start the Nuggets offense on an artificial fastbreak and create an additional advantage. This is not against the rules, it is just a skill that Jokic has mastered to help his team. Though, there is a counter for it. At least until the refs get their fill of it.

On Monday night, Mark Daigneault brought rookie Dillon Jones to the scorers table midway through the opening frame. This was shocking, but not unheared of. Sure, Jones had played for the OKC Blue just three hours earlier, but the Thunder bench boss has asked players to double dip before and is no stranger to putting players like Jones in unique situations even in big games.

However, Jones never checked in. He just...stood there. The Weber State product could not help but crack a grin as Daigneault worked the refs and stalled Nuggets inbounds.

Eventually, the officiating crew had enough and issued a delay of game to the Oklahoma City Thunder which sent Jones retreating to the bench to have a seat. But also sent a message to the refs. Daigneault explained what that message was after the game.

"The permanent sub idea is the ball goes out of bounds in the NBA, the officials are the ones in charge of the pace at how fast the ball gets inbounded," Daigneault said. "Jokic is savvy and if I was coaching Jokic, I'd appreciate him doing this too. He gets the ball very quickly from them and he starts the fastbreak. The officials start the fastbreak for them. He demands the ball, they hand it to him and he zips it up the floor."

However, the officials can not - or at least should not - swiftly get Jokic the ball if they are forced to check at the table waiting on Jones to enter the game.

"We had a situation a couple of years ago where we were at Golden State and we had a sub up and they missed the ball," Daigneault said. "They inbounded the ball so fast. So I put a sub up tonight and was like, 'Hey, you're gonna have to call him in every single out of bounds in order to slow the game down if you guys are going to give them an advantage by handing them the ball fast.' They delayed-the-game that. I don't know if there's a rule against doing that. I think you can have a sub out there and choose not to put them in the game."

Mark Daigneault was beyond angry after OKC was not allowed to sub in a player pic.twitter.com/bjTBT2mGFo
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 5, 2023

To have that recall from the a game that took place two years ago in the heat of battle and use that triggered a plan to combat a quick inbound in a game 23 months later is what makes Daigneault special.

Each time he is asked about situations like this, he cites examples of on the surface forgettable moments that never escape him as a tool to improve the roster.

He did this a year ago when explaining why he does not choose the same side of the court to start on. On the road, teams get to elect what basket they wil lshoot on in the first half and thus will close on in the second half. Some teams keep that answer the same for all 41 games, preferring to end on the side closest to its bench. When asked about that process, Daigneault cited a 2016 Western Conference Playoff series, Game 6, the game that Klay Thompson light the nets on fire to help the Warriors pull off a 3-1 comeback against Oklahoma City.

Daigneault was in the house as a back row assistant joining the big league club in the postseason after being at the helm of the G League affiliate. He noted that in the game, the Warriors flipped what side of the court they would start -and thus end on - for the first time all season. He felt it threw off OKC. So in flipping it nearly each time he gets the choice, the team is prepared for any outcome in the biggest moments.

The way his brain is wired is eerily similar to that of his hometown Patriots caoching legend Bill Belichick, who is notorious for always finding loopholes in the rules and his attention to detail. As Daigneault constantly uses cross-sports examples, you can't help but wonder if his years of rooting on the Pats is coming into play with the Thunder.

Above all else, Monday's strategy deserves a tip of the cap to the OKC Thunder bench boss as he was able to be quick on his feet in an attempt to flip and advantage from one side to the other - which afterall, is the job of a head coach.

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