Alex Caruso made a decisive move, stealing the ball from Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. in the final minute of Game 3 in the first round of the playoffs.
Down by three points, the Grizzlies were desperate for a good shot on this possession against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They entered the game trailing 2-0 in the series, and their once unassailable 29-point lead had already vanished. With Ja Morant sidelined by crutches, the Grizzlies` offense appeared helpless.
Memphis guard Desmond Bane found no opening as he came off a high pick-and-roll, defended by Luguentz Dort and hedged by 7-footer Chet Holmgren. Bane`s slightly off-target pass to Pippen on the left wing gave Caruso time to close in from his help position. Pippen was cornered and took a jab step to create space, exposing the ball to Caruso, who snatched it away as Dort recovered.
The Thunder`s suffocating defense had seized control of the game. Oklahoma City wouldn`t relinquish it.
The Thunder delivered a defensive masterclass in the second half, executing the second-largest comeback in playoff history.
Memphis fell victim to the league`s top-ranked defense, which made scoring incredibly difficult. The Grizzlies finished the second half with more turnovers (13) than made field goals (9-of-36 shooting).
“Our defense is our superpower,” Caruso stated after the Thunder`s comeback victory. “When we`re locked in on that side of the ball, we`re an unstoppable force.”
Oklahoma City has frequently been an unstoppable force this season, cruising to a league-best 68 wins before sweeping Memphis. The Thunder shattered the NBA record for the best point differential in a season (plus-12.9 points per game), fueled by one of the most dominant defenses seen in recent history. Oklahoma City`s stifling success is the result of a remarkable combination of talent, determination, and unity.
This stifling defense, which powered the Thunder`s historic dominance alongside the consistent, sensational play of scoring champion and MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, faces its toughest test in the Western Conference semifinals. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, a 6-foot-11 center with a refined shooting touch and brilliant basketball IQ, presents challenges even for perfect defensive execution. They faced their next test against the Nuggets in Game 3 in Denver on Friday.
“It felt like seven pit bulls out there. Not five,” Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson remarked after the Thunder converted 22 turnovers into 30 points during a blowout win over the Eastern Conference`s top team on Jan. 16. “They were scratching, reaching — in a good sense. Their speed and athleticism, they kind of overwhelmed us. It was that simple. That`s their calling card.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was somewhat modest about the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year voting. He finished seventh, receiving a couple of second-place votes, likely due to leading the league with 150 steals. He was the only Oklahoma City player on the ballots, which he feels didn`t accurately reflect the collective nature of the Thunder`s defensive success.
Gilgeous-Alexander`s defensive impact is evident in the box scores. He has been among the league`s top five in steals for the past three seasons. In that period, he has averaged at least 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game twice. Only two other players have achieved this total over that time with a minimum of 65 games played in a season: Golden State`s former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green this season and Caruso with the Chicago Bulls last season.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander appreciates the luxury of taking the least demanding defensive assignment, which allows him to often operate as a ball-hawking free safety. Following the additions of Caruso and center Isaiah Hartenstein last summer, Gilgeous-Alexander might not even make an OKC-only first-team All-Defensive squad.
Dort, a robust 6-foot-4, 220-pound player with nimble feet, consistently guards the opponent`s primary perimeter scorer, taking immense pride in usually holding his man well below their average. It`s a point of frustration in Oklahoma City that Dort isn`t more recognized among the NBA`s elite defenders, having never made an All-Defensive team despite opponents actively trying to scheme the elite perimeter pest away from their stars. He finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season.
“There`s not many guys as big and as strong as Lu that could move as well as he does laterally,” Gilgeous-Alexander commented. “He`s kind of a freak athlete in his own way. And then he`s really worked at it, understanding the game and understanding his opponents. His first couple of years he was obviously really good defensively and he`d get caught on certain things. He`s erased all of those.”
Dort`s combination of strength and quick feet makes him a formidable one-on-one defender. According to NBA Advanced Stats, Dort allowed only 0.69 points per possession this season in isolation situations.
“You think that he`s just a big body and it`ll be easy to screen,” Hartenstein noted. “I don`t know how, but he can get small, too. He just gets through the screens. I think that`s what makes him special — that combination of physicality and then his agility, too.”
Wing Jalen Williams often takes on the second-toughest assignment, unless second-year stopper Cason Wallace is in the starting lineup. With Caruso and/or Wallace coming off the bench, opposing stars find no relief when the reserves enter the game. And if an opponent manages to penetrate into the paint, Holmgren or Hartenstein — or sometimes both big men — are waiting.
“You don`t really have a weak link,” Hartenstein added. “When you have your stars playing at a high level defensively, everyone has to lock in. Just seeing your top guys are making those sacrifices, everyone kind of has to buy in. So I think that it starts with them and then the rest.”
Oklahoma City`s players share credit amongst themselves. While Gilgeous-Alexander praises others for the team`s defensive strength, his teammates point to him for setting the standard of commitment. Dort appreciates being recognized as the team`s best on-ball defender. However, he`s quick to mention that Caruso and Wallace are more dangerous defending “in the gaps,” which makes them such disruptive playmakers.
“I`m good with my body,” Dort explained. “They`re really good with their hands.”
Caruso, acquired from the Bulls in a trade for Josh Giddey, is the most decorated perimeter defender on the Oklahoma City roster, earning a first-team All-Defensive selection in 2022-23 and a second-team spot last season. But there`s no debate within the locker room about who the best pest is. Caruso and Wallace concede that title to Dort.
“Cason is a close third,” Caruso quipped, glancing at his young teammate nearby to ensure he heard.
While none of Oklahoma City`s rotation players need protection – and several pride themselves as lockdown defenders – the Thunder rarely leave their stoppers isolated. According to tracking data, Oklahoma City brought a help defender on 77% of drives this season, the fifth-highest rate in the league. The Thunder doubled on 8.0 paint touches per game, the most in the NBA.
However, when the Thunder send a second defender, it`s more about disruption than just simple help. It`s controlled chaos, enabled by precise game-planning and constant communication. When Oklahoma City`s defense is at its peak, opponents are unsure what`s coming, while the Thunder know exactly where their teammates will be.
The Thunder`s defensive dominance is the epitome of a collective effort, but there`s also a healthy sense of competition among the individuals involved.
“We haven`t explicitly said it, but iron sharpens iron,” Caruso remarked. “You see somebody competing at a certain level, playing at a certain level, you have no choice but to match that. And if you don`t, you get left behind.”
The Thunder doubled down on defense this season after ranking fourth in defensive rating (111.0 points allowed per 100 possessions) in 2023-24 on their way to becoming the youngest No. 1 playoff seed in league history. Following a second-round exit, general manager Sam Presti targeted Caruso in the trade market and Hartenstein in free agency. A top-tier perimeter defender and an excellent rim protector were added to the potent mix, along with two veterans possessing high basketball IQs and strong voices.
The Thunder have the personnel that allows head coach Mark Daigneault and defensive coordinator Dave Bliss to vary their schemes and styles, from pairing their two 7-footers together to utilizing scrambling, small-ball lineups. There are no easy answers against the Oklahoma City defense, which features several players opponents prefer to avoid and none that are easy targets to attack.
“They rely heavily on their defensive stoppers,” Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving noted after a loss in Oklahoma City this season, “which there are practically five of them out there at one time.”
The Thunder`s defensive rating improved to 106.6 this season despite Holmgren, one of the league`s best shot blockers, fracturing his pelvis and being sidelined for a few months. Oklahoma City allowed 2.5 points per 100 possessions fewer than any other team, the largest difference between the first- and second-ranked defenses since 2015-16.
The scrappy, swarming Thunder also led the league in steals (10.3 per game), turnovers forced (17.0), and points created off turnovers (21.8) by comfortable margins. Both their steals and points off turnovers rank as the most of any team this millennium – and these numbers increased to averages of 10.8 steals and 26.3 points off turnovers in the Thunder`s first-round sweep of the Grizzlies.
That trend has continued into the second round, although the series was even after the initial two games in Oklahoma City, thanks to Jokic leading the Nuggets on an improbable comeback from a double-digit deficit in Game 1. The Thunder scored 57 points off 39 forced turnovers in those two games.
After the Thunder tied the series with a dominant 149-106 win Wednesday, Daigneault insisted that Oklahoma City made no significant defensive scheme adjustments between games, attributing the improvement to simply being “a lot sharper.” However, the Thunder did make one notable adjustment: the team primarily deployed the stronger Hartenstein and third big man Jaylin Williams to defend Jokic rather than Holmgren.
Nevertheless, Holmgren ended up switching onto Jokic for one specific possession late in the first quarter that perfectly illustrated this Oklahoma City squad at its best.
Jokic sensed an opportunity to overpower the leaner Holmgren and established deep post position. But length overcame strength, as Holmgren maneuvered to reach his left arm around his 280-pound opponent and deflect the entry pass.
Wallace darted in from the corner to bat the ball away as Jokic attempted to recover it. Dort, one of three Oklahoma City players in the paint, secured the loose ball like a rebound.
“Everybody was flying around,” Holmgren said postgame, a general comment about the Thunder`s defensive effort that night which particularly applied to this sequence.
Dort immediately found Gilgeous-Alexander, who needed only five dribbles and five seconds to get from the backcourt`s top of the key to the basket, weaving through traffic before finishing with a skillful scoop layup.
That sequence – generating two of the Thunder`s 34 points off turnovers in the rout – is precisely what Daigneault envisions when he often describes the game as “interconnected.”
Oklahoma City`s defense doesn`t just prevent opponents from scoring. It initiates the Thunder`s offense.
That`s how Oklahoma City won 68 games during the regular season and advanced to the second round. And it`s how the Thunder hope to eliminate further playoff opponents.
“I didn`t really look at tonight as a response as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are,” Daigneault stated after the series-tying win. “And that`s how we`ve been all season.”