DENVER — In Game 1 of the Thunder’s series with the Nuggets, interim coach David Adelman peeked down the sideline at the group starting the fourth for Oklahoma City.
He watched Aaron Wiggins approach. By the look of it, Adelman had been so occupied with the remainder of the Thunder rotation that he forgot Wiggins existed. He turned to the scorer’s table in disbelief.
“Man, they’ve got a lot of dudes,” Adelman uttered.
He’s gotten reminders all series, including in OKC’s 92-87 Game 4 win, when it swapped starter Lu Dort for a younger clone, Cason Wallace. Jamal Murray certainly had to wonder where Wallace came from.
This 6-foot-4 fire hydrant that slimmed down around screens when he chased Murray around, whose ‘locks swung where his stops went. Who carried the grip of a bodybuilder, with explosion kept as quiet as his personality.
That the Thunder needed to turn to Wallace down the stretch of Game 4 grew painfully obvious to many. Except for, apparently, the man himself.
“It’s not obvious at all,” Wallace said behind his signature sheepish smile. “I’m just ready whenever my name is called, really.
“I take on all challenges, I don’t shy away from anything. That’s really what the playoffs about. That’s me.”
Like in last year’s postseason, open 3s were funneled to Dort. A 41.2% regular-season shooter, he entered Sunday’s game a shocking 0 of 12 from deep in road games in these playoffs. He reached 0 for 15 before his first make Sunday, finishing 2 for 10. He didn’t play a minute of the fourth quarter.
“I definitely trust the body of work over time more than small sample sizes,” Daigneault said of Dort’s rough shooting Sunday. “If the question is whether or not I’m confident in his 3-point shooting, I am.
“He’s the last guy I’m worried about. We also have a deep team.”
As if Adelman needed a reminder. Citing the number of minutes his starters played in Game 3, Daigneault chose Wallace to start and play much of the fourth. He connected on one of the two 3s that shaved the Denver lead down to one early in the period. For much of his 23 minutes Sunday, he’d done little things that got lost in an abysmal offensive game from both teams.
While star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dealt with the Shai Rules, a box built behind his first line of defense, Wallace was among those who got rare paint touches. Who threw fearless lobs, even if a couple were batted away. He bungeed his way into plays en route to five rebounds. He made all three of his 3s, a godsend on a night both teams combined to make 21 of their 86 3s (24.4%).
A solid list of production for someone designated to tail Murray. It wasn’t obvious to Wallace, but it wasn’t random to Daigneault.
“It’s never, like, ‘I wonder what we should do now,’” Daigneault said Monday. “It’s always frameworks that we work through during the seasons. We have a pretty good understanding of frameworks of lineups, frameworks of rotations, different levers we can pull.
“We’re not just throwing stuff against the wall in the highest stakes games.”
Wiggins was alongside Wallace, cashing in on the other 3 and being an offensive stabilizer. As was Alex Caruso, tabbed a playoff riser by Gilgeous-Alexander for the pandemonium he unleashes as a defender and his consistency on offense. Caruso made two 3s himself and was the screener for several of SGA’s cleanest actions late.
For a time in the fourth, center Jaylin Williams joined them. He hardly played in Game 1, though he’s now an integral part of containing Nikola Jokic in a series more effectively than any team has.
“You kinda have an idea of what your menu options are, what each of them brings to the table, and then you gotta kinda dance with the game,” Daigneault said.
Daigneault took risks Sunday. He listened to the game, and it told him where to step.
Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Support Joel’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Game 5: Thunder vs. Nuggets
TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Paycom Center (TNT)