Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Blowout Loss to Dallas
After a three-day break following a loss to the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon.
OKC allowed a whopping 47 points in the first quarter, managing to forge a minor comeback in the second frame before Dallas once again stretched out its lead in the second half.
The Thunder will look to rebound from Saturday's loss on Sunday afternoon when Mark Daigneault's team takes on the Sacramento Kings, who have defeated OKC in their last eight matchups.
Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma City's loss to Dallas.
Giddey and Dort hindered the team's offense
After an impressive sophomore season that saw Australian guard Josh Giddey average 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, the 21-year-old has taken a significant step back this year.
Giddey's struggles have been a huge topic of conversation for Thunder observers, with many believing that the 6-foot-8 point guard's play style doesn't fit well with Daigneault's system.
Against the Mavericks, Giddey had one of his worst performances of the season, finishing 3-of-14 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. In addition to missing what should be easy shots around the basket, Dallas left Giddey open at the 3-point line on multiple occasions and the third-year player was unable to connect on most of his shots from the perimeter.
In addition to not hitting these shots at a high percentage, when team's leave Giddey open beyond the arc, it gives opposing teams an extra defender to guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In 51 games this year, Giddey is averaging 11.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
Lu Dort, who has had a good season shooting the ball, also had a rough game against the Mavericks. On Saturday, Dort went 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range despite shooting 38.4% from beyond the arc on the year.
The Thunder desperately need the All-Star break
After a long month of January and a tough start to February's slate, All-Star Weekend should be a welcome break for Oklahoma City.
Following 17 games last month and four already in February, OKC's players need time to rest their legs and get their two new additions in the building.
With Sam Presti making a trade deadline move for Gordon Hayward, Daigneault said at practice that the veteran wing would make his Thunder debut after the All-Star break.
The team also signed veteran big man Bismack Biyombo shortly after, and it seems likely that Biyombo will also make his first appearance in Thunder blue soon after All-Star Weekend.
While Hayward and Biyombo fill different roles, each should help OKC in a specific area of need.
Hayward can take secondary ball-handling responsibility and act as a solid perimeter shooting option while Biyombo is a bigger body who can get rebounds and play with physicality against some of the stronger big men the Thunder will meet in the postseason.
With both of these two set to join the squad and Oklahoma City being well-rested after a week-long break, Daigneault's team could come out of All-Star Weekend on a hot steak.
Dieng's inconsistencies continue
Following one of Ousmane Dieng's best performances of the season, the second-year wing looked outmatched on Saturday afternoon.
The 20-year-old Frenchman went 1-for-9 from the field and 1-for-5 from 3-point range in 14 minutes on the court. While Dieng has had a handful of bright spots over the Thunder's last few games, his inconsistency is what sticks out the most.
Against the Charlotte Hornets, Dieng went 4-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, finishing with 11 points, four assists and two rebounds in around 20 minutes of action.
The next game, Dieng went 1-for-3 in eight minutes against the Toronto Raptors, playing without physicality or toughness. Against the Utah Jazz in Oklahoma City's next game, however, Dieng went 3-for-3 from the field and finished with eight points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in just over 10 minutes on the court.
If Dieng is able to play with more consistency, he could carve out a spot in the rotation for himself, as he has shown that he can positively impact games. If the former lottery pick remains so unpredictable, it is possible that Hayward and Biyombo could eat into Dieng's minutes.
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