Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Stunning Loss to Detroit
After embarking five-game win streak, taking down the surging Pelicans in the process, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked as though they would roll into Detroit and cruise to a win over the Pistons, who were 5-40 heading into Sunday's game.
Without Cade Cunningham on the floor, it seemed like the Pistons stood no chance against OKC. Detroit, however, quickly proved that they had something to prove, and jumped out to a lead that they would never relinquish in the second quarter.
After such a lackluster performance, the Thunder have plenty to fix ahead of their game on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the top spot in the Western Conference on the line.
Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma City's loss to the Pistons.
Size and rebounding are still issues for the Thunder
Despite having a good defensive team that plays with effort and has numerous outstanding perimeter defenders and a great rim protector, size is hindering OKC in some of its matchups.
For example, Oklahoma City has struggled against the Los Angeles Lakers twice this season. While the Thunder are probably the better all-around team, and have a much better record, the Lakers' size has given OKC problems in their last two matchups.
Similarly, Jalen Duren, a second-year center for the Pistons, had a monsterous 22-point, 21-rebound performance against the Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
Listed at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Duren is not only a big body, but a very impressive athlete who is very mobile and has great leaping ability. With his size and athleticism, Oklahoma City did not have anyone to combat the 20-year-old.
With a game against Minnesota up next, Mark Daigneault's team will have to quickly find a solution to their problem, as the Timberwolves have a number of good big men to throw at OKC.
Oklahoma City's bench continues to be inconsistent
The Thunder bench was back to being a non-factor against the Pistons after having a decent stretch of production in OKC's win streak.
Despite recent standout performances from Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, nobody on the Oklahoma City's bench was able to score more than seven points in Detroit on Sunday.
In 20 minutes of action, Wiggins was the leading scorer off the bench with seven points, going 3-for-8 from the field. Two-way rookie guard was the only other bench player to reach five points, going 2-for-3 from the field in 13 minutes.
Against the Spurs just a few games prior to OKC's loss to the Pistons, Wiggins tallied a career-high 22 points in a victory over the Spurs. Against the Clippers almost two weeks ago, Joe went 5-of-6 from 3-point range to finish with 15 points.
Since then, the sharpshooter from Arkansas has failed to reach double figures and scored just four points against the Pistons on Sunday.
For the Thunder to be competitive in the Playoffs, players like Joe, Wiggins and the other key contributors off the bench will have to be more consistent and be able to effect games positively even when their shot isn't falling.
OKC still lives and dies by the sword (3-point shooting)
When the Thunder are able to knock down 3-point shots at a solid percentage, the team is usually able to find a way to win. When the team has abnormally bad shooting nights from beyond the arc, however, Oklahoma City has struggled to come out on top.
Against the Pistons on Sunday, OKC shot 28.6% from beyond the arc, going just 8-of-28. On the season, the Thunder are third in the NBA in 3-point percentage, shooting 38.8% as a team.
When Oklahoma City is able to drive into the paint, kick the ball out to the perimeter and knock down open 3-pointers at around 39%, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA.
When the team is not able to play its brand of basketball, however, OKC struggles to overcome poor shooting nights. Against the Pelicans on Friday, Daigneault's team was able to overcome a 30.3% shooting night from beyond the arc, mostly because New Orleans shot 25% from 3-point range.
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