Will OKC Thunder beat New Orleans Pelicans in Game 2 of NBA playoffs? Here are three keys

The Thunder will look to take a 2-0 lead against the Pelicans in its first-round NBA playoff series on Wednesday night (8:30 p.m., TNT and BSOK) at Paycom Center.

Here are three keys for OKC and New Orleans in Game 2:

More: How did Lu Dort create havoc on Brandon Ingram in Thunder's Game 1 win vs. Pelicans?

Thunder must limit second-chance points vs. Pelicans

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has acknowledged the tradeoffs that OKC embraced at the deadline, sacrificing size and a brute glass presence to have a fluid, quicker offense.

At certain points, it’s looked like the team’s lone Achilles' heel. At others, it’s looked like something to gloss over with effort. In the 28 games the Thunder played after the All-Star break, it ranked eighth in the league in defensive rebounding. It ranked 15th in rebounding.

But Sunday’s game resurfaced some of those issues. The Pelicans turned 18 offensive rebounds (to OKC’s eight) into 24 second-chance points. Exclude New Orleans’ 17 second-chance opportunities and it shot 35.4% from the field.

Trey Murphy III, a glaring outlier in a game that yearned for shotmaking, got his cleanest, most in-rhythm looks on plays where OKC sent multiple bodies at center Jonas Valanciunas. Catch-and-shoot 3s, a sneaky putback.

“You never want to concede anything and we're never trying to hand out points or rebounds to anybody,” Daigneault said Tuesday. “But again, we have to keep the cost-benefit equation tilted in our favor.”

As has been the case for much of the season, the cost of Valanciunas appearing as some immortal viking will probably be worth swallowing. To some degree, rookie Chet Holmgren’s teammates will have to let him live (or die) down low. The same way he has all season, fluctuating between historically great rookie flashes and appearing mortal among husky centers like Valanciunas. They’ll have to trust that Valanciunas’ touch won’t be as sustainable as it was on Sunday with Holmgren in front of him.

They’ll also have to pick their spots on when and where to crash, striking a balance between mastering first-shot defense and not being destroyed by second-chance attempts.

—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer

More: Mussatto: Think Mark Daigneault will shorten Thunder rotation in playoffs? Think again.

Make Pelicans pay for playing Jonas Valanciunas

Given his size and brutish strength, you might think Valanciunas has always been a problem for the Thunder. And that thought might have been reinforced Sunday in Game 1.

Valanciunas played 29 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing 20 rebounds — nine of them offensive boards.

But good Valanciunas games haven't been the norm against OKC. The Thunder has regularly played the Pelicans' plodding center off the floor.

Valanciunas averaged 23.5 minutes per game in the regular season. But in three regular-season games against the Thunder, Valanciunas averaged 17.3 minutes per game — his second-lowest total against any opponent.

Valanciunas was a minus-2 on Sunday, so it's not like he killed the Thunder, but the Thunder can do more to mitigate Valanciunas's impact by making him defend in space.

When Valanciunas is guarding Holmgren, it's advantage Thunder. Holmgren should have the green light from 3-point range, pulling Valanciunas away from the rim. And if Valanciunas closes out hard, Holmgren can create off the bounce.

And for the Thunder's guards, attack Valanciunas on a switch in the pick-and-roll. Make him uncomfortable. Make Willie Green take Valanciunas off the floor.

—Joe Mussatto, Columnist

More: Meet Jeremy Price, the tattooed courtside super fan at OKC Thunder games

Continue to contain Brandon Ingram

With Zion Williamson out (hamstring strain), OKC’s main focus on defense is containing Brandon Ingram.

The Thunder did that in Game 1. It held Ingram to 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting from the floor (0 for 2 from deep).

Lu Dort deserves plenty of credit for being the primary defender. Ingram only scored four points on 1-for-7 shooting when guarded by Dort, and he turned the ball over twice.

Dort held his own despite being four inches shorter than Ingram. OKC also had success when it threw bigger defenders such as Jalen and Kenrich Williams at the Pelicans forward.

Of course, New Orleans has other scoring options outside of Ingram. Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum combined for 41 points in Game 1.

Still, containing Ingram is the top priority. If OKC can continue to make life difficult for him in Game 2, it’ll be in good shape.

—Justin Martinez, Staff writer

More: Mussatto: OKC Thunder shows it has bark in tight win vs. Pelicans in NBA playoff opener

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder vs Pelicans: Three keys for OKC to win Game 2 of NBA playoffs