After Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace earned the Western Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month for October and November, All-Star Jalen Williams revealed how he helped the third-year guard improve his defense. The Thunder surround Wallace with veteran defensive stalwarts in Lu Dort and Alex Caruso as resources from veteran minds he can tap into, while Williams, an All-Defensive forward, in his own right, challenged all three.
Williams wanted to see if Wallace could lead the Thunder in steals over Caruso, Dort, and himself, he said, a goal that carried into this season, when Cason is averaging 2.2 steals per game, second-most in the NBA.
“It’s more just fun. We might have just started it joking around. He’s such a good defender, I was trying to get him to reach more in his rookie year,” Williams said. “Then, last year, he started trying it more and more, and he was getting a lot more steals. I was just seeing different ways that he can steal the ball that I probably couldn’t, and vice versa. So, we’ve just kind of challenged each other with it.
“Then, adding AC, another first-team All-Defense, then, Lu, who gets no steals. It’s just a friendly competition. But it’s just more trying to challenge ourselves to be great in that regard, every day, and not get bored, trying to play defense.”
Coming off his Defensive Player of the Month honors, Wallace finished with two steals and one block in the Thunder’s 124-112 win against the Golden State Warriors.
How Alex Caruso, Lu Dort have helped Thunder’s Cason Wallace
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault knows it’s no coincidence that Cason Wallace is continuing to evolve as a lockdown defender. The same argument can be made for Ajay Mitchell’s defense this season, as the second-year prospect ascended from a third-string to a fringe starting guard. The Thunder’s elite defensive culture is contagious in every way coach Daigneault could hope for.
“As time goes on, these guys gain more experience when they play against guys like Jordan Poole — they learn the league, they learn the pictures, their instincts start to grow over time, which I think comes from experience,” Daigneault said. “He’s obviously got a gift on top of that. You’d have to ask him in terms of what he’s doing intentionally.
“But I do think he’s gotten a little more intentional about his study, and about learning the nuances of the game. I think Dort and Caruso have probably helped him with that to a degree. Those guys are pretty tight,” Daigneault concluded.
The Thunder will enter Friday’s game against the Mavericks on a 13-game winning streak.
