Thunder’s Struggles Show Despite Cooper Flagg’s Worst Game

Perhaps what the Thunder did right for most of the game was hold on to their composure. OKC knows that teams are hunting them, and getting their second wire-to-wire win in a row is a good sign of improvement. However, that doesn’t mean they finished the game without some hiccups.

Where the OKC Struggles Were Exposed

Many of the tough losses the Thunder suffered last season were blown leads. There are times that OKC struggles on offense, mostly because the scoring runs dry. Of course, this is an issue for almost every team, but for a squad like Oklahoma City? It shouldn’t be.

We’ve already seen how the Thunder are struggling when they’re not at full strength. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander usually leads the way, but when he sits down or Chet Holmgren is resting, everything dries up, too. This is what we saw in the win against Dallas. The Thunder missed shots they’d usually make. Many point-blank misses really hurt them, especially after a massive third quarter run.

In fact, Oklahoma City missed 10 shots before Hartenstein made their first basket at the 2:52 mark. Even Ajay Mitchell, who is said to be the spark for the team with Jalen Williams recovering from his wrist surgery, was missing every basket there. Sure, one can say that it’s all about making shots, but it’s the tendency of the Thunder to get complacent whenever they get up by double digits in the game.

The Thunder blew a total of 13 double-digit leads last season. Five of those were in the fourth quarter. Interestingly, that’s the least blown leads total in the NBA last year. While they are gunning for a historic season, coughing up leads should not be in their identity anymore.

How Can the Thunder Address These Issues?

This one’s a simple matter: maturity. The Thunder are the defending champions, alright. However, one can easily forget that they are the sixth youngest team in the league as well. Maturity comes in hand with in-game mentality. OKC’s struggles mostly stem from the team being complacent whenever they get to a comfortable lead.

Well, the team has had a good grasp of that experience in blowing leads during the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Let’s just hope that the team continues to understand the game further. After all, they are heading into their second week of the 2025-26 season, so there’s much to improve on for OKC.

If anything, this is a chance to always learn from their mistakes. So far, we have known the Thunder to have a knack for that, especially off losses. So if they can do that, how much more can we expect them to improve by learning from their wins as well? A whole lot of growth.