Thunder Experiencing Foul Trouble Through First Two Games

Oklahoma City has seen defensive struggles in the form of fouling in their first two games of the 2022-23 season.

In Saturday night’s tussle with the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder put some incredible stretches of basketball together. But they would ultimately lose thanks in part to the 27 fouls issued against them.

The pace and rhythm of the game slowed to a grinding halt at times due to the amount of air the officials were blowing into their shiny whistles. Whether someone was taking a three, rebounding, or driving, it seemed few could defend a possession with fouling.

Luguentz Dort was the worst offender, committing five fouls in his 30 minutes of action.

Denver would ultimately find themselves in the bonus in three of the four quarters of play. The Nuggets’ 31 trips to the charity stripe would keep them in the game as the Thunder attempted to build leads throughout the game.

The Timberwolves also gave the team a lot of trouble in the Thunder’s season debut. After losing by seven points, the box score revealed that 26 fouls were committed against Minnesota.

Three players in Thunder jerseys perpetrated four or more foul calls that night, sending a Timberwolf to the line 33 times! Both Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Eugene Omoruyi ended that game with five fouls and played just a combined 27 minutes.

Rookie guard Jalen Williams also found himself getting tagged by officials three times in under six minutes of play before leaving the game with an injury.

The Thunder are a team that is arguably at their best when they are able to get up and down the court and outrun, and gun, other teams. Statistics show that the group currently outputs a pace of 104.75 according to the NBA, which is the fourth best in the league.

On the other hand, the team ranks second in personal fouls with 26.5 per game through their first two contests. That sits them just behind the Phoenix Suns and just ahead of the New York Knicks.

It’s not uncommon for young teams to experience these troubles early on in the season, but it will be interesting to see if, or when, they will improve this season.

The Thunder will have a chance to learn from their mistakes tonight as they take on the Timberwolves yet again in their home opener at Paycom Center.

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