The Thunder Defense Is Still Thriving While Battling Injuries

Oklahoma City had a tough task at hand Wednesday night, but it never seemed like it. 

The Thunder welcomed the Lakers to Paycom Center on Wednesday night for the second game of a back-to-back. OKC continued its short-handed streak as two starters in Jalen Williams and Lu Dort, were on the injury list going into the game. 

Without their All-NBA defender in Dort, the Thunder would be forced to guard All-Star Luka Doncic without him. This seems like a daunting task, but the Thunder proved tonight that their defensive reputation is a lot more than just one player. 

The Lakers are more than just Doncic, as Austin Reeves has had a great season, even scoring as high as 51 in a win against Sacramento this season. Therefore, the Thunder had more than just one player to worry about, but worry they did not. 

Without Dort, somebody had to step up for the Thunder; thankfully, the entirety of the Thunder's backcourt did. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe each had two steals Wednesday night. However, Ajay Mitchell took the prize as he had three steals of his own. 

With this aggressive play, the Lakers were not able to produce on offense like they usually do. Doncic had the most points for the Lakers, yet had fewer points than shots taken, as the Laker guard had 19 points on 20 shots. Reeves did not prove to be much help either, as he only put up 13 points in Wednesday’s bout. 

The Thunder didn’t make life easy for the starting guards as they had a combined nine turnovers. OKC didn’t spare the rest of the Lakers' roster either, as the team from L.A. had 20 turnovers on the night. 

These turnovers led to the Thunder scoring 26 points off of them, double what the Lakers scored off turnovers. 

It was the same story as the previous game as well, as the Thunder held Steph Curry to just 11 points on 4-13 shooting. Again, another night without Dort, but another great defensive performance from the reigning champions.

Dort might have carved his role to be the Thunder’s main defensive presence on the court, but the Thunder have made defense an identity as a whole. Even though Dort is missed and the Thunder await his return, it’s encouraging to see the team perform at such a high level defensively without the All-NBA star.