Why OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault would 'take the rest' between rounds in NBA playoffs
By the time Game 1 of the Thunder’s second-round series tips off Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, the Thunder will have played just four games in the last 22 days.
The Thunder had a week-long break between its last regular-season game on April 14 and first playoff game on April 21. After sweeping the Pelicans, the Thunder is amid another full week off as it waits for the Clippers-Mavericks series to end.
A three-day break in the regular-season schedule is uncommon. Seven-day breaks, much less two of them in a three-week span, are unheard of.
The advantage is rest. The disadvantage is rust.
“We’d take the rest,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after practice Thursday.
“If you’ve got bumps and bruises it gives you time to heal and get everybody’s tank full from a recovery standpoint,” Daigneault said. “Disadvantages would just be a lot of time in between games, an amount of time we’re not used to.
“Even in training camp, you don’t go this long without playing at least one preseason game. It’s a long period of time, but I thought we managed it pretty well in the last stretch.”
The Thunder showed some rust in Game 1 against the Pelicans, but after rattling off four straight wins, it’s hard to argue that the rest — if a factor at all — was anything but beneficial.
OKC would surely love to see the Clippers-Mavericks series go to a Game 7 Sunday, giving either team only one day off before starting Round 2.
More: Would OKC Thunder be better off facing Clippers or Mavericks in NBA playoffs?
How Thunder is preparing for Clippers vs. Mavericks
Daigneault, to no surprise, isn’t watching Clippers-Mavs on live television like the rest of us.
“I haven’t watched a ton of that series yet,” Daigneault said. “I’m getting there, but I’ve focused more on us. We’ll sit down (as a staff) and watch it together, but we’re not coming in here at night and doing that. The commercials are brutal.”
He must’ve been referring to the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren duet for AT&T.
“No comment,” Daigneault said.
The Thunder’s staff divides the scouting reports, with some focused on the Clippers and some on the Mavericks.
“And then we’ve got some people that work on specials for both teams, so somebody will take zone offense for both teams, zone defense for both teams,” Daigneault said. “We’ve got a large staff so we can cover a lot of ground there. And once the opponent presents itself, the people that were on the other team can jump on board and we’ll start to do some special projects and try to understand them.”
That information isn’t being relayed to the players until the opponent is known.
“Practice today and tomorrow, very much rhythm, focus on us, focus on our habits that transcend the opponent,” Daigneault said. “Not a lot of specific stuff to Dallas or the Clippers.”
More: OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, wife Hailey Summers welcome their first child
Aaron Wiggins on playoff experience
Aaron Wiggins isn’t a changed man after logging 60 minutes of playoff experience.
“I guess I get to say I have playoff experience, but it doesn’t feel any different,” Wiggins said Thursday.
Wiggins played quite well by the way, averaging 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his 15 minutes per game. He shot 9 of 16 (56%) from the field.
The third-year pro looked very much like himself in Round 1, as did most of his teammates despite having little or no playoff experience.
Asked what version of the Thunder showed up: “I think it’s the same version we had all year, all season,” Wiggins said. “A hungry team, a team that doesn’t pay attention to a lot of what’s being said outside of us about our youth or our inexperience, anything like that.
“Just a group of guys who understand that we’ve gotta prove ourselves in the league and nothing’s gonna be handed to us. Guys are hungry and guys wanna win.”
More: Why OKC Thunder players 'show love' to Bally Sports sideline reporter Nick Gallo
Quotable: Mark Daigneault on Lu Dort’s ‘invisible’ work on defense
“The hardest thing about stats is that there’s a lot of non-measurable things that are highly impactful and relevant that aren’t necessarily counted. I think everybody has a bias toward what they can see, what they can count and what stats are easily comparable on a box score.
“And yet successful players, successful teams do the invisible … Lu does a lot of invisible things. You can’t count them all, you can’t put a stat on all of them, but try playing against him. You can feel it. We can feel it.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder glad to rest waiting out Mavericks, Clippers in NBA playoffs
