On Wednesday night, the OKC Thunder saw their 15-game winning streak come to an unfortunate end, as the top-seeded Cavaliers burst their bubble with a 129-122 victory in Cleveland.
Although the game was undoubtedly exhilarating and difficult until the bitter end, their poor shooting performance in the fourth quarter (41.2 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from long range) to their overall foul troubles exposed many of the Oklahoma City team’s weaknesses. .
While the biggest weakness in their arsenal for months has been inconsistency in perimeter scoring, perhaps just as concerning is the limited supply of reliable big man options, and that proved to be the case against Cleveland.
The OKC Thunder could use some extra help in the big man department
This lack of help in the front yard showed up in two main ways during Wednesday’s exhibition.
The first area to note is that the Cavaliers attacked this very real rotational disparity by aggressively pursuing scoring opportunities at the rim or inside the paint. Out of 129 points he scored 60 came in paint With a highly efficient conversion rate of 65.2 percent.
Often times during a contest, players will take full advantage of Oklahoma City’s limited big man options by attacking the lane as soon as it opens up. One of the highlights of this act came in the second half when Donovan Mitchell was passed by Lou Dort at half court and put him right on the rack for a powerful, swinging jumper.
Donovan Mitchell with ‼️ before the end of the first half!#Let us know pic.twitter.com/UFq97w1gRt
– FanDuel Sports Network Cleveland (@FanDuelSN_CLE) January 9, 2025
However, perhaps the most telling sign that the Thunder were overpowered by their lack of big-name players came in the form of brutal performances by Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. The duo combined for 46 points, 21 rebounds (nine offensive) and two blocks while shooting a collective 70.8 percent from the floor.
Their unbearable strength and energy forced true big man Isaiah Hartenstein into foul trouble (recording five fouls), which severely affected his ability to play physically during prime time.
As a result, this has forced guys like Jalen Williams and, in particular, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to try to make up for this by getting more aggressive in the rebounding and low post defense department, but unfortunately, they have also been found to falter. On mistakes during the decisive last quarter.
Now, it’s certainly easy to look at this and point to the fact that the addition of Chet Holmgren likely would have helped a lot.
The only problem is that there is no telling when he will return from his long-time hip injury, nor is it a guarantee that he will avoid another injury later.
That’s why it may be in the Thunder’s best interest to consider pursuing additional help in the big man department during this year’s trade offseason rather than just looking to bring in more three-point shooters.
Fortunately, should they pursue a deal with Nets forward Cameron Johnson to help address the latter issue, there is also a Brooklyn-based player they may be able to add to the incoming package that could later help address the former.
If their big man depth wasn’t already viewed as a real weakness, their matchup against the Cavaliers certainly should have made them aware of this very real issue. Hopefully over the next few weeks they will find a way to address it before it is too late.