Despite himself, last week, Mark Daigneault took advantage of several absences to carry out numerous tests. Guaranteed to finish in the Top 3 of its conference, the Thunder does not yet know its opponent in the first round. The squad is inexperienced, and this season marks the return of the Oklahoma City franchise to the playoffs after three years of absence. In fact, only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort were present during the last campaign. As for Mark Daigneault, he was there as an assistant, and he wants to control as many parameters as possible.
“It’s always fascinating to me when you go into a series with a team, because you play them up to seven times. The show itself, and the way it plays out, forces you to adjust and sometimes it forces teams to adapt to things they've never done before.” recalls Mark Daigneault. “It’s always been weird to me. It's like we don't want to find ourselves in a situation where we have to adapt to something we've never faced. We appreciate knowing what awaits us, and we try to be proactive because of the playoffs. »
82 matches to practice your skills
This is why the Thunder's preparation did not start last week. The former assistant to Billy Donovan changed his rotations several times. During the season, he notably modified Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's returns, aligned the tallest five with Chet Holmgren or played five with more shooters alongside his leader. It was also necessary to integrate new players, like Gordon Hayward.
“Everyone talks about preparing for the playoffs, but the best preparation is the 82 games” specifies Mark Daigneault. “Which allows you to keep your habits in the playoffs, and thus to finish this work. We are still a developing team, we cannot pass up opportunities to improve. We thus finish our preparation, we refine our palette, and we rely on the habits developed. To ensure that when the playoffs arrive, we are the most successful team possible. »
There are four games left for the possible “Coach Of The Year” to best prepare his team, and the good news is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will resume normally.
