Basketball gut tells you that a bit of gamesmanship may have proven a big reason the Oklahoma City Thunder sat just about every single one of their rotational guys against the San Antonio Spurs. Following a great shorthanded showing that had them within four points of their rivals in the fourth quarter, OKC head coach Mark Daigneault may have come as close as possible to revealing the hidden truth.
“There's certainly things we can take from this game, both in terms of us improving and also learning that opponent,” the 2024-2025 NBA champion told ClutchPoints.
Already having played the Spurs four times this season — the first three famously going San Antonio's way — Oklahoma City's decision to put more than half their roster on the injured list for a meeting in San Antonio seemed more strategic than necessary, especially considering the two could very well meet in the playoffs.
“There were some positives tonight, but certainly we're not content,” Daigneault said following the 116-106 loss.
While the sixth-year Thunder head coach may have very well said the same things following a game that included his championship core, he was able to proclaim it after his squad objectively overachieved.
“We came here to win, you just saw the effort the guys put forth. There's no moral victories there, but there are things we can take from every game,” the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year continued.
With several two-way contract players called up so that they could field reserves, the Thunder were in the hunt until the final minute.
“I think the best outcome would've been to win. It was a winnable game,” Daigneault concluded.
Or, in this case, a win-win.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson opens up about victory vs. Thunder
While Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson didn't heap praise on his team following a second-straight victory, he didn't criticize the group either.
“It's fair to typically have an expectation of teams because you gain a rhythm of who they have, and obviously there's availability and changes sometimes of lineups and whatnot,” the Silver and Black's first-year head coach admitted. “But when you play a team as much as we have, we've played this team now five times in under two months, you're used to seeing patterns whether that's personnel, plays, style of play. And when you have such a stark contrast to what you are used to, that's different. I guess that could be a challenge.”
While they've fared well against the Thunder regulars, as well as fellow Western Conference contenders Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, San Antonio has sometimes struggled against teams not quite as good.
“Our challenge is continuously playing each golf course the same no matter where we're playing,” Johnson added.
“We did what we had to do to get the win. There's a lot of things that could've been better, and good to see us finish the job,” the 39-year-old coach continued following his team's 34th victory of the year. “But, I think that we'll continue to try to hold ourselves to our standard.”
It's a standard that's now knocked off the defending champions, the team that again boasts the league's best record, four times in a little more than a month and a half.
