OKC Thunder Needs One Perimeter Defender to Step Up, Get Back on Track

Christmas Day brought more concern for the Oklahoma City Thunder — who officially has a Spurs problem. This Thunder team has now lost five games this season, and three have come against the Spurs.

Every time Oklahoma City has lost to San Antonio, the Thunder have looked lost and lethargic. They have played tight, while the Spurs have played free and confidently. On Christmas Day, the Thunder generated plenty of open looks, but bricked the majority of them. The corner threes in particular were puzzling.

The Thunder shot 11-of-44 from 3-point range, and the team defense was completely below the standards this team has set for itself. Regardless of shots falling, Oklahoma City’s defense should be enough to keep games close, but on Thursday they fell way short.

Victor Wembanyama was rock solid once again, but it was San Antonio’s guards that dominated. The Thunder tout elite perimeter defenders, but none of them showed up on Christmas. And to be frank, the Thunder’s perimeter defense has been lackluster in each of Oklahoma City’s losses. Moving forward, someone is going to have to step up or this could continue to snowball.

Starting with Oklahoma City’s first loss against San Antonio, Devin Vassell, De’Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle all scored over 20 points. A trio of guards scoring 20 points a piece against the Thunder was unheard of. Against Minnesota, Anthony Edwards poured in 26 points, while Bones Hyland doubled his season averages coming off the bench.

And then came the back-to-back losses against San Antonio. Castle dominated on the 23rd with 24 points on 58.3% from the floor. On Christmas Day, Fox completely dominated with 29 points on 12-of-19 from the floor. The Thunder’s guards have a reputation for being terrific defenders, but they need to start showing it.

If the poor defensive effort wasn’t enough, the outside shooting by Oklahoma City’s elite defensive trio is ultimately what buried them. Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Lu Dort combined to shoot 5-of-23 from 3-point range, and nearly all of them were wide open looks. It was simply deflating, missing good looks on one end and giving up easy buckets on the other. The pick-and-roll defense was nonexistent, too.

The Thunder should be officially concerned with their matchup against San Antonio. Shooting slumps happen, but routine defensive laps can't. And if they’re going to get back on track, it needs to be behind the perimeter defense.