The Oklahoma City Thunder now find themselves behind the 8-ball in their series with the Dallas Mavericks, down 2-1 after the 105-101 loss on Saturday. Oklahoma City’s main stars had solid performances, but its supporting cast left a lot to be desired.
Two players in particular who may want to forget their outings are Lu Dort and Jaylin Williams. Dort scored 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting with two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block across 40 minutes. Williams, on the other hand, scored two points on 0-for-2 shooting with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal across 13 minutes off the bench.
Both players were disappointing in different ways. Dort made a minimal impact offensively despite playing significant minutes, and Williams couldn’t convert a field goal when his team needed it in a close game. Will they be able to rebound from these lackluster performances?
Dort must make the most of his chances in order for the Thunder to win the series
Oklahoma City is a better team when Dort scores in double-digits. In these playoffs so far, the Thunder are 3-0 when he scores 10 or more, and they’re 2-2 when he doesn’t.
The problem is that he hasn’t been able to eclipse the 10-point mark in this entire series. All of his double-digit contests came against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round. There’s no excuse to slump now, as the Mavericks are weaker than the Pelicans defensively. Dallas finished 18th in the regular season with a 114.9 defensive rating, while New Orleans finished sixth with a 111.9 mark.
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