Inside The Thunder

Mark Daigneault Doubles Down on Philosophy, Updates Jaylin Williams’ Injury Status

At Thunder practice, Mark Daigneault doubled down on his lineup philosophy and updated Jaylin Williams' injury status.

Rylan Stiles

Mark Daigneault Doubles Down on Philosophy, Updates Jaylin Williams’ Injury Status
Mark Daigneault Doubles Down on Philosophy, Updates Jaylin Williams’ Injury Status /
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The Oklahoma City Thunder flew back to Oklahoma City before continuing this road swing in Phoenix and got back on the practice court following Thursday's loss to the Spurs. 

In that contest against the Spurs, Jaylin Williams left with an injury after Cedi Osman rolled into his leg falling from a charge drawn by Isaiah Joe. Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault led off his practice media availability by announcing it was a knee sprain for the Arkansas big man. 

Daigneault was also asked about the lineups he puts on the floor, specifically when he puts Josh Giddey with a secondary unit as the lead ball handler, "Like I told you guys out of All-Star Break, we can't allow the relative success going into All-Star Break to bite into our aggressiveness with understanding what we have with the team, and our aggressiveness to continue to develop the team and develop out players. The more aggressive you are, the more exploratory you are, the more you are going to introduce failure and the more you are going to introduce success." 

The Thunder head coach continued saying "We are willing to incur the setbacks to see what we can uncover with the team...The overall mentality right now is one of aggression and exploring, and doing everything we can to number one learn everything we can through the 82 games about our team, and prepare every player for as many situations [as we can] we want everybody to be ready and confident and in rhythm as much as we can." 

This is a philosophy Daigneault has shared before and one that lets them find unique lineups that work and create advantages for this Thunder squad. Despite falling to the Spurs, Oklahoma City still sits with a 41-18 record. 

Practice Notebook: 

  • Josh Giddey knocked down 12 consecutive three's at one point.
  • Thunder staffer, scout, swiss army knife DeVon Walker shut down an Shai Gilgeous-Alexander post up attempt in the mid-range much to the excitement of the gym. Gilgeous-Alexander did not miss many shots though. 
  • Gordon Hayward and Olivier Sarr spent time splashing three's with Thunder Assistant Coach Grant Gibbs and Chet Holmgren worked on trailing 3's with Thunder Assistant Dave Bliss.
  • Jalen Williams was the player to talk at practice today, as the Thunder starter reflected on what the team could have cleaned up to earn a win over the Spurs, "We had some miscommunication on defense [Victor Wembanyama] got an open 3 by our bench, we did not red up he got another 3, [Devin Vassell] hit an almost half court 3, Tre Jones got a right wing thing after we bottled him up for almost the entire possession, it is basketball, that is why it is fun." 
  • "Red" is a type of defensive coverage, and is commonly ran by NBA teams late in games/shot clocks, to switch everything on the floor. Another way Red is used a lot in the NBA is specifically in the post when the offense gets a mismatch down low, you send a second low man to double/attempt to take away an entry pass in the post and everyone has to rotate down the line crisp on the perimeter to not have it give up an open look on a spray out. 
  • When asked about defending Victor Wembanyama, the Santa Clara product said watching film was the biggest help, adding "You try not to treat everybody the same but take some of the same principals...Good players are going to make shots, but it is about how hard you make the shots. Try not to let them get comfortable." Williams says he "enjoy[s] those matchups." 
  • Mark Daigneault also walked the media through their analytical approach to determining shot quality and expected shooting percentage which helps them decide how to try to limit matchups and also helps them to "Take a more clear-eyed view to the process of the game" according to the Thunder bench boss. 

Up next, the OKC Thunder take on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday attempting to get back on track after seeing their six game winning streak snapped. 

EXCLUSIVE: After a Long Rehab Process Adam Flagler Is Grateful To Return to the Court

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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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