Thunder Practice Report | Jan. 03, 2021
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00:00Following Josh Giddey's historic triple-double last night, it seems like
00:03business is back to usual here in Thunderland. Well, almost. Head coach Mark
00:07Dagnold is still in health and safety protocols, but Ty Jerome says that coach
00:11Mike Wilkes has done a smooth job so far.
00:14We definitely missed coach Mark, but it was like a seamless transition.
00:18You know, whoever's in a running group, like we said, we all love coach Mike.
00:23So, it was a seamless transition. It was like, whether we're missing a player, a coach,
00:29or, you know, we just kind of had that mentality at this point, you know,
00:32next man up, and that applies to practice, too.
00:35Oklahoma City has made a reputation in being a scrappy defensive team, and they lived
00:40up to that reputation last night where they limited the Mavericks to just 95
00:44points and Luka Doncic to a mere 16 points.
00:48Not sure what the exact stat is, but, you know, we mentioned St. Guy's last game,
00:53you know, where we were ranked at defensively over his last stretch of games,
00:58and guys have just been doing a good job, like I said, staying connected, covering for
01:02one another, being there for one another, getting our principles into the game,
01:06getting physicality into the game, and then we have guys making multiple efforts.
01:11So, you know, guys have just been doing a good job, like I said, competing on both
01:15ends of the court.
01:17Over the past three games, Ty Jerome has been very productive on the offensive end
01:21and has been averaging 16 points per game.
01:24It seems like getting more minutes has been a huge positive for him.
01:28I'm just happy for Ty, you know.
01:30He's taking advantage, you know, of the opportunity, being aggressive out there,
01:35trying to provide a level of, you know, leadership for us.
01:38He's still a young guy, but, you know, guys respect him.
01:42He's a high IQ player, competes, so just happy for him, the effort he's putting out,
01:47you know, every single night, but, you know, he's trying to play team ball,
01:51and he's a competitor, he's a winner.
01:53So I think just some of the numbers are just a reflection of that.
01:57Even though Mike Muscala went 0 of 2 from the perimeter last night,
02:00the Thunder still believes that his role is very vital to this team,
02:03especially on the defensive end of the floor.
02:06We've always, you know, respected Mike on both ends of the floor.
02:10He does the things that sometimes doesn't show up on the stat sheet,
02:14whether it's communicating, whether it's being in the right spot to discourage
02:19a drive in the first place, and then he's always done a good job of challenging
02:24at the rim.
02:25He may not block the shot, but, you know, being a good guy,
02:28a guy that does a good job with verticality at the rim.
02:33So, you know, that's just Mike being Mike, you know.
02:36Shea Gildas-Alexander has come out of health and safety protocols,
02:39but regarding the other players, there are more updates to come.
02:43This has been your Thunder practice report.
02:45Reporting for SI Thunder, I'm Christine Butterfield.
02:49We'll see you next time.