Mark Daigneault often gets asked the same question after a win.
“What did you learn about your team?”
Don’t expect the OKC Thunder head coach to share a groundbreaking discovery. There’s a better chance of discovering the Loch Ness Monster in Lake Hefner.
Expect a more unremarkable response instead, like the one Daigneault gave after OKC’s road win over Minnesota on Monday in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
“I learned nothing,” Daigneault said, just like he always does.
Sure, OKC has learned a lot about Minnesota throughout the series. It has drastically improved its defense on Julius Randle since Game 1, and it found success in Game 4 by playing Chet Holmgren more at center.
But as OKC returns home for Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday with a 3-1 series lead, just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals, Daigneault doesn’t expect to learn anything new about his players.
He already knows what they’re all about.
“They don’t need speeches, and they don’t need motivation,” Daigneault said Tuesday. “You can pretty safely bet on the collective competitiveness and pride of this team.”
Thunder ‘can learn and improve’ after big Game 4 performance by Wolves’ supporting cast
As OKC prepares for Game 5, its top priority on defense will be to take the ball out of the hands of Anthony Edwards and Randle.
The Thunder succeeded at that in its Game 4 win. Edwards spent all night navigating a nightmarish maze, filled with elite defenders and dead ends. And Randle’s attempts to play bully ball were ineffective against the growing Thunder, which had no intentions of forking over its lunch money.
OKC held Edwards and Randle to just 21 points on 6-for-20 shooting from the field (30%) and 1-for-10 shooting from deep (10%). But it was the others who kept the Timberwolves alive.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo combined for 44 points off the bench on 10-for-16 shooting from deep (62.5%). Plenty of those looks were clean as a result of the extra attention Edwards and Randle received.
OKC can’t take everything away defensively, of course. But Daigneault stressed the importance of limiting wide-open looks for Minnesota’s supporting cast.
“There’s certain things you live with,” Daigneault said. “If you take away the first part of the play and then you get a late contest, you probably have to live with that against a good offensive team. You live to fight another possession.
“But the ones where they’re standing still in the corner and they’re lining those shots up. … The ones that are clean, that’s where we can learn and improve.”
Jalen Williams has ‘done a great job’ of bouncing back these playoffs
Jalen Williams wore his blacked-out Apple AirPods Max headphones as he spoke to the media after Game 4.
They weren’t covering his ears. The speakers were pushed forward, resting on the sides of Williams’ forehead, which allowed him to hear the reporters’ questions.
But it also allowed Williams to hear the sweet silence of his critics. After scoring just 13 points in Game 3, the All-NBA forward responded by scoring a playoff-career-high 34 points.
“I feel like if you’re not really good, you’re probably not going to have any scrutiny,” Williams said Monday. “A lot of the people who are talking about me can’t do what I do, and I know that. … I’m the one who stays late nights and shoots and works out and does that. It gives me a lot of confidence going into my game, and from there I just play.”
That mindset has allowed Williams to bounce back from quiet performances throughout this postseason.
When he got held to 17 points against Denver in Game 2 of the second round, he scored 32 points in Game 3. When he scored just six points in Game 6 of that series, he racked up 24 points in the all-important Game 7.
Williams has navigated the turbulence. He has shut out the social media slander. And he has done that at just 24 years old. It’s an impressive level of mental fortitude for the young star, who’ll have to continue to deliver as OKC tries to close out Minnesota.
“I think because of Dub’s age and relative inexperience, there’s a little bit more of a spotlight on (his struggles),” Daigneault said. “The reality is that all great players go through ups and downs in a playoff run, and he’s no different. But he’s done a great job of learning from that, keeping himself in it and playing the next possession, playing the next game. And it has served him and us really well.”
Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @JTheSportsDude. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.