Mark Daigneault Says OKC Thunder Can't 'Finch' Against Mavericks Pick-And-Roll

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a tough task at hand, defending the Dallas Mavericks' pick-and-roll offense. Mark Daigneault described the challenges of that.

May 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) looks to move the ball past / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder open up their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday inside the Paycom Center, where the Thunder will be tested early.

After sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans in round one, the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history will face off with a formidable foe loaded with top-notch scorers.

One way the Dallas Mavericks dominate is in the pick-and-roll, where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving rank in the 93rd and 84th percentile respectively when navigating the action. Couple those two bucket-getters with high-end lob threats and rollers such as Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II and you quickly see how the Mavericks rank in the 93rd percentile as a squad in that category.

The Oklahoma City Thunder rank in the 80th when defending the pick-and-roll, though this is a different level of threat. The Mavericks will lean on the action early and often.

Prior to the tip-off of Game 1 Mark Daigneault was asked about limiting the Mavericks duo in that action and what makes Dallas so special in that department.

"It is the top-end talent of [Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving], they are fastball pitchers that pump 99-100 mile per hour fastballs. They are really good." Daigneault described the Mavericks pick-and-roll offense.

I asked Mark Daigneault about the Mavs Pick-And-Roll and the keys to limit it, he mentioned not flinching, and understanding you won’t be perfect. pic.twitter.com/0cuLpq3bkH

— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) May 8, 2024

"They are going to make tough shots, get easy shots for their teammates. We have to not flinch, understand that it is not going to be a perfect game, understanding you are not shutting those guys out by any stretch." Daigneault said when asked how to limit the Mavericks pick-and-roll offense.

The Thunder will task Lu Dort with fighting through screens for the entire series while putting Chet Holmgren in a unique position of needing to shade toward the handler while also staying with the rolling big man.

This is an area the Mavericks have to dominate to get their offense in a groove, and one that have been great in all year long.

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