Someone else said it- not big on moral victories but I'll take this one. We hung right there with OKC and answered every run or big 3 they hit. Last year's team would've checked out in the 2nd qtr. Frustrating that they hit so many 3s despite us playing really good defense. Both teams made 15 3s but it felt like they made twice as many. Boxscore was close but a few things stood out - we outrebounded them by 14 and crushed them on the offensive glass so we were able to advantage of their lack of size. Turnovers hurt us tho and that's where the game was won. You can't overdribble against this team otherwise it's pretty much a guaranteed turnover and CG, Book and Brooks are all guilty of that. You have to play fast and keep the ball moving.
And while people are down on Book (and I hate feeling like I have to defend him after every game), let's be honest and look at who he's on the court with. We've been playing well and guys are contributing but his supporting cast on the perimeter is Brooks, Gillespie, Royce, and Goodwin. Bouyea was in the GLeague last week. I don't mean to shit on those guys because they've played well above expectations but none of them are the threats Jalen Green and Allen are shooting and scoring. Gillespie's been great but even he had a tough time with OKC's pressure size/length on the perimeter. And as good as Mark Williams has been, he's not an offensive threat. Teams will gladly double or triple Book and let CG, Brooks and Royce beat them. I'd also love to see the day when Book gets half the whistle SGA does.
I hate to play the injury game but if we had one of Green or Allen, we probably win this game. A few more 3s or having Green as a dribble drive threat would've made a huge difference while Chet was on the bench. So even tho we took the L, we should feel OK with how we matched up and had a few chances to win it at the end.
It would've been nice to get the victory because of the B2B with Denver tonight. Hopefully we have something left in the tank.
Game Day: Suns (12-7) @ Thunder (18-1), Fri 11/28/25
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