Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Thunder
By Mason McFee
3. The Thunder bench is (still) bad, and Billy Donovan knows it
The Thunder’s starters scored 99 of Oklahoma City’s 116 points in Game 1, compared to just 17 for the bench. Those are the facts. Here are some more.
Entering the playoffs, the Thunder had one lineup (that they can still play now) that posted a positive field goal differential (the Thunder’s field goal percentage when they were on the court minus their opponent’s€™ field goal percentage): Russell Westbrook, Patrick Patterson, Jerami Grant, Paul George and Raymond Felton.
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Granted, that lineup only played 41 minutes together this season, but since Andre Roberson is not walking through that door, unless Billy Donovan has a change of heart and puts in Josh Huestis, that’s worrisome.Â
Terrance Ferguson was only on the court for two minutes, while Alex Abrines was on for 21. If either of those trends continues, the Jazz need to exploit that.
When Terrance Ferguson was on the court during the regular season, the Thunder posted a 110.3 defensive rating and a 103.9 offensive rating. When he was off the court? A 103.4 defensive rating, and a 108.5 offensive rating without him.
As for Abrines, the Thunder posted a 106.5 offensive rating and a 106.3 defensive rating when he was on, and a 108.0 O-rating and 104.0 D-rating when he was off.
Playoff rotations shorten, but no coach can play his starters 48 minutes. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder just needs to figure out the right combination to exploit when Donovan has his out.