OKC Thunder Needs Supporting Cast to Step Up in Close Games

The star duo in Oklahoma City can't be the only two players to put points on the board for the Thunder and its recent defeat to Golden State proved that.
Jan 29, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Dennis Schroder (71) is called for an offensive foul after jumping into Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Jan 29, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Dennis Schroder (71) is called for an offensive foul after jumping into Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a ridiculously good performance in the Oklahoma City Thunder's most recent defeat to the Golden State Warriors. The All-Star starter and potential MVP accounted for 52 of OKC's 109 points, just under half of the team's total.

Oklahoma City's second-leading scorer, guard Jalen Williams, was next on the scoring list with 26. Combined, the two made up just under 72% of the Thunder's scoring. Though that offensive load is expected of them, they normally, on average, make up around 46% of OKC's scoring.

Expecting the two elite scorers to do more than that consistently is a little unfair, especially because the rest of the roster is built around being able to support that duo. Even in the absence of forward Chet Holmgren, a consistent second or third option when healthy, others have stepped up when needed. That wasn't the case against Golden State and it was to their detriment.

Against the Warriors on Jan. 29, guard Isaiah Joe recorded 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five of which came from the perimeter. He's been a streaky shooter this season but has found good form recently. If you remove those three previously mentioned players from the scoring numbers, they went 6-for-33 from the field, equating to 18.2% from the field.

Simply put, that won't be good enough for the Thunder to win big games. Even if Golden State's standing in the Western Conference isn't as good as it has been in recent seasons, they will always be a team that poses a threat. Catching the Thunder on a poor shooting night certainly helped them but they also stepped up in multiple ways, especially when it came to late and clutch shotmaking.

After leading by 10 points at half-time, it looked like Oklahoma City had control of the game. They went on a brutally cold shooting streak to start the second half and, to nobody's surprise, Gilgeous-Alexander was the only one who managed to break out of it.

Down the stretch of the fourth quarter, the Warriors got clutch shots from Dennis Schroder, Brandin Podziemski, Kyle Anderson and Steph Curry. They all hit challenging shots that kept them ahead but when OKC received open looks on its offensive end, they couldn't deliver. When defensive coverage on GIlgeous-Alexander ramped up and getting him open in general became difficult, open shots for others increased. Outside of Joe and Williams when the game was out of reach, nobody stepped up.

There are talented offensive players surrounding Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander. From Cason Wallace to Lu Dort, the Thunder have plenty of offensive options to turn to if the star pair is either defended heavily or unable to get shots to fall. Finding them to be reliable options in important games and late-game situations, especially in the NBA Playoffs, will be important for closing out said games.


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Michael Stamps
MICHAEL STAMPS

Michael is a sophomore from Papillion, NE who is currently a student at the University of Missouri studying journalism. He covers the university’s football program at Missouri Tigers on SI and is the co-sports editor for The Maneater, the student publication for the university.