Jalen Williams
(Zach Beeker | OKC Thunder)

Thunder Grinds Out Summer League Win in SLC

Making Plays for Each Other

By Nick Gallo | Broadcast Reporter and Digital Editor | okcthunder.com

Coming out of an early fourth quarter timeout, with the Memphis Grizzlies having gained some momentum, the Thunder supercharged its offensive attack to regain some rhythm of its own. It didn’t do so by isolating a single player with the ball and having everyone else clear out space. Instead, Summer League head coach Kameron Woods got his players into a concept where the ball weaved out top, hitting the hands of all five players as the Grizzlies defense struggled to catch up. 

Eventually all those passes created enough accumulated advantages that the ball wound up with rookie Ousmane Dieng, who had a ton of space available for a wide-open wing 3 that was assisted by fellow rookie Jaylin Williams. The shot splashed through the net and the Thunder cruised to an 87-71 victory in game two out of three at the Salt Lake City Summer League. 

“That's exactly how we want to play and the beautiful thing about it is that's how our guys want to play,” said Woods. “It’s easy for me as a coach to put us in positions like that when that's how we want to play. That's what they've done all camp. So that was a good thing to see.”

It wasn’t nearly that simple for the Thunder throughout most of the evening, however, as the Grizzlies were the ones who delivered a few of the initial punches with physicality and a breakneck tempo out in the open floor. It was a herky-jerky game, with neither team catching much of an offensive rhythm throughout the night. The timing wasn’t always there on screening actions, leading to offensive fouls, nor was the accuracy always there with hit-ahead passes in transition. It was a good reminder that for all of these young players, the development process is going to take time and that there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way. 

“Just keeping our foot down for 40 minutes is what we're going to have to do going forward but physicality has been a big part of what we're trying to work on and build on,” said guard Josh Giddey. “Tonight Memphis was a more physical team and that's something we'll look at tomorrow on the film and get better for tomorrow night.”

Despite the Thunder not shooting the ball particularly well, at only 39.7 percent, the team once again leaned into its own defense to grind out the victory. Rotations were again on point and the Thunder used length and size to be disruptive at the rim and on the perimeter to the tune of 8 steals and 6 blocked shots. The result was a dismal 30.1 percent shooting night from Memphis, which including just 8-for-39 (20.5 percent) shooting from behind the arc. 

“We were trying to make plays for each other,” said Woods. “We were trying to do the things we talked about, and I thought it ended up working out in our favor and we ended up getting the positions we wanted to be in.”

Players like Dieng and Chet Holmgren used their 7-foot and longer wingspans to get out and contest shots which help set up downhill possessions for Josh Giddey to orchestrate offense. Using his quickness and change of pace, Giddey continued to attack with the left hand around Holmgren screens, hitting the jets as he turned the corner to get downhill. Giddey also flung inbounds passes past Grizzlies players’ ears as he found cutters and shooters for open looks. Rookie Jalen Williams was a beneficiary of the ball movement and once again was efficient at all three levels of the floor, in addition to the free throw line. 

“It's been super fun,” said Jalen Williams. “The group gets along with each other really well and that's kind of been shown on the court. That's what got me really comfortable coming in here. So it's just been fun to be out here.” 

Giddey was also on the receiving end of a few passes, including one by Aleksej Pokuševski who found the 19-year-old Australian on a dive to the rim for an easy layup. That was one of 23 assists on 31 made baskets for the Thunder on the night, as seven different players recorded an assist while nine players scored at least five points and five scored in double-figures. 

There’s no rest in the high altitude for the Thunder, who will play the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night to wrap up this three-games-in-three-days Salt Lake City Summer League. After that, it’ll be on to Las Vegas, where the Thunder will get five more opportunities to get a baseline reading on the newcomers and track the learning and progress of the rookies and veterans alike.