Thunder's Mark Daigneault optimistic reinforcements will arrive soon amidst recent injury woes
It’s no secret the Thunder squad is looking a little different nowadays.
Gone are the days of multiple superstars. The days of expectations and playoff hopes.
But even more than that, for now, gone are the days of Oklahoma City’s budding players.
For reference, only three players who saw the floor for OKC in their season opener back in December played on Thursday night against the Cavaliers. Two are 19-year-old rookies, Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon. The other is Kenrich Williams, who seems to have hustled himself into a longterm role with the team.
Aleksej Pokusevski shoots over Cleveland's Taurean Prince in a 129-102 loss on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Roby, Mike Muscala and Josh Hall were all listed on Thursday’s injury report, leaving rookies and recent signees to big time roles.
Head coach Mark Daigneault doesn’t think Thursday night's loss was an effort problem.
“I thought we were playing hard and competing — I thought a lot of our breakdowns were execution breakdowns,” Daigneault said after the 27-point loss. “We brought it competitively tonight and didn’t execute on the level that it would’ve taken to really hold them in check.”
It’s easy to see where Daigneault is coming from. Any name off the injury report would make games more competitive.
But the reinforcements could be coming for OKC. At least, Daigneault hopes so.
“We’re ending a pretty tough stretch both from an injury standpoint and from a scheduling standpoint.” Daigneault said. “I thought we endured it with our head held high, even though tonight was a little ugly — hopefully we have some reinforcements come in here with some more guys coming off injuries soon.”
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The game of musical chairs being played with the starting lineup has taken its toll on OKC over the past couple of weeks.
Following the Thunder's 129-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, Oklahoma City's point differential over their five-game losing streak fell to 29.4 points per loss, the worst mark since the 1993-94 season.
The different combinations and rotations have allowed for the younger members of the team to show out, but as with most young players, the Thunder have dealt with some inconsistencies night-to-night.
“It’s a long season, you play a lot of games, you’re gonna have some good ones and bad ones.” Thunder point guard Ty Jerome said following Oklahoma City's loss to the Cavaliers. “Since I’ve gotten here, the staff, front office and my teammates preach getting better every single day."
Jerome has been a bright spot for Oklahoma City. After rehabbing an ankle injury which saw him miss the opening portion of the season, the former Virginia guard got back on his feet in the G League bubble alongside the rookie, Pokusevski.
Since returning to the show with the Thunder, Jerome has averaged 9.7 points and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 40.2 percent from deep. In the loss to Cleveland, Jerome also posted a career-high 23 points in the loss.
Jerome's approach mirrors the organizational philosophy of the Thunder in 2021— night-to-night improvement despite the end result.
“I just try to stay never too high, never too low. As even keel as possible and just keep playing my game every night,” Jerome said. “Whether it’s a good performance or a bad performance, it’s about watching film and almost being robotic in your approach to getting better.”
While the past two weeks have been hard to watch for Thunder fans, the young members of the roster have gotten invaluable experience on the floor while their teammates are on the mend.
Hopefully once OKC's stars re-enter the fray, the team will reap the rewards and finish the season on a high as they enter the 2021 offseason.
