How can a small defense be so good? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report explores the Oklahoma City Thunder defense, which is lapping the league in turnovers, and they are the league best in another surprising area that is the key to their success.
Become a member for extra video content on either Patreon or YouTube:
https://www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3HPbvB6f58X_7SMIp6OPYw/join
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/12kpkAvUj6LGxzViDIH0qH
Support at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Basketball-Ben-Taylor/dp/1532968175
Website: https://www.thinkingbasketball.net
Twitter: @elgee35
Find additional Thinking Basketball content on the NBA App, the More Thinking Basketball channel and the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Stats courtesy:
http://www.pbpstats.com @bballport
https://www.basketball-reference.com
https://stats.nba.com
—–
Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.
Music by Nemesis and Lost (Alter Ego)
#ThinkingBasketball
46 Comments
I would like to see a similar video on the Rockets defense, they are historically good as well this season.
Even though I don't see the top teams exactly matching up later. Experience will be a big factor in these playoffs. I'll for sure be using max(watching west conference) Im extremely excited for the nba as a whole.
Some old guys do need to go sit down and let the new stars shine. Lebron just needs to go home.
Rockets though. Both teams so much fun to watch
Once they get Chet and Caruso healthy, I don’t see how teams are gonna consistently score on them come playoff time
Excellent vid, thank you. I can't understand the whining about the NBA, when we have teams performing like this, and lots of other greats.
As someone from Seattle I hate that okc is good at all but I will admit they are just incredible. It’s hard not to like their players since I know I’m just being petty
good stuff
as long as we still need to dribble, at some point the ball will come down and short player can have great defensive impact
imagine if Desmond Bane play on this team
They just played low iQ defense against the warriors just now…switching late and going under screens n shit 🤦🏾♂️ they have amazing defense but they just cannot beat Steve Kerr and Jason Kidd for some reason
For the first chart, i feel like the relative defensive rating should be normalized to the scoring avg of the season, but could see a case for either.
With a bunch of young guys too
5:58 i think edwards here is travelling.
Wingspan City Thunder! They create turnovers from defensive pressure, deflections, stocks, and make any opposing big man pray that a small guy doesn't get the defensive rebound. If these guys win they truly deserve it.
lol will jaylen brown ever b able to go left the world may never know
Usually you need help defenders to cover modern offense…
Seems with OKC you need help attackers to penetrate that defense 😂
I was screaming at this Boston home game, was really awesome to watch
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if Chet was healthy this would be the greatest team of all time in record and rating
They are clearly a great team all around. However, I feel like a lot of their success is because there aren't any dominant bigs. How would this defense handle prime Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Tim Duncan, Alonzo Mourning, David Robison, … I sure miss dominant bigs.
Great stuff
Being 43 y/o, I saw so many all time great defensive teams such as the 88 & 04 Pistons, the 96-98 Bulls, the 05 Spurs, 93-94 Knicks, etc. but when watching games from those eras, it is IMMEDIATELY noticeable how much EASIER it was to defend. Offenses were completely ignorant to the value of the 3PT shot (e.g. Chauncey Billups, career 38.7%, attempted 4 threes per game) but teams just clogged the lane without concern for shooters. A great example is the 05 NBA Finals where the Spurs, considered an all time elite defensive team, left Chauncey & Tayshaun wide open off-ball, one pass away, for the entire game!
The “defense” in prior eras involved sagging off your player, even when on-ball, 3 to 5 feet back with no concern whatsoever for the 3PT shot. So we never actually saw any of the great defensive teams of past eras put to the test or be forced to play the type of defense required to be a top team now. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to just admit how much more difficult it is for defenses today when they have to defend an opponent shooting 39% 3PT% as a TEAM (Cavs) who is spreading the floor with multiple shooters & attempting 41 3PT shots per game while ALSO averaging 50 points IN THE PAINT per game. It’s really basic physics when it comes down to it because you just can’t have a Charles Oakley or Anthony Mason out on the floor now because they can’t shoot and most of all, they don’t have the foot speed to defend the perimeter or lateral quickness for on-ball defense.
“Small ball” has defeated the age-old myth that size reigns supreme. Teams aren’t just lazily being “copy cats” of the 2014-15 Warriors. Instead, teams are being FORCED to adapt because if you want to WIN, you HAVE to play this way so we’re seeing every team embrace this philosophy because it is, simply put, BETTER.
Old heads be like, "No one plays defense anymore; the game is trash." Even solid teams from the 80s-90s would struggle to get 80 points against these guys.
This is pretty incredible given that they don't even have Chet this season. They're missing his length and shot blocking but are wrecking teams anyway.
Great video
It's so nice to see Caruso and Dort getting so much limelight for defending.
Rockets clear. Amen is literally the best defender in the league. Plus you add Tari, Bari and Dillon it gets scary.
This OKC defense in 3rd Qtr is like the Warriors Offense, when they would go on crazy offensive stretches.
NBA teams should hire you man! Wow! You're very on point, and very easy to understand. Just wow! We appreciate you putting all of this together. New sub'r here!
offense has to be more patience on defense like that. aggressive defense tend to foul a lot.
Amazing analysis.
The fact that they’re doing this despite missing arguably their best defender for most of the season is insane. Imagine what they could’ve done with Chet.
okc!!!
I feel like size is king in the playoffs tho where the game slows down
As a rockets fan, this is why sengun is overhyped and doesn’t fit the rockets culture. Hes slow, so he never switches on pick and rolls and teams have been exposing that. His help defense isn’t great because the player has already shot the ball by the time he gets there. Transition defense is terrible cause he’s slow.
His offensive output doesn’t make up for his lack of defense
Then why does PJ own them 🤔
Looks like they foul on each “strip”.
2025 will be the year of millionaires – invest into XAI308K and don't look back
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Your call to invest into XAI308K literally made me 10's of thousands already
Appreciate you introducing us on XAI308K Crypto. I got in early on the 200% bonus presale. Thanks!!! 💗
Plot Twist: XAI308K takes over Bitcoin this year 😏
i don't understand how XAI308K isn't on Binance yet. Heard they pick it up this summer though.
XAI308K🎉🎉🎉XRP🎉🎉🎉
Is it really happening? Did Elon Musk finally make a new crypto coin? XAI308K or something
Why is everybody talking about XAI308K? Did Elon Musk really create a new crypto coin?
This is the best video ever i love crypto and think XAI308K will make investors a lot of money.
Imagine those XAI308K coins he bought will be worth 50M$ by next year