Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were undoubtedly the driving forces behind this project. Oklahoma City Thunderhas climbed to the top of the Western Conference standings this season.
But as they’ve progressed since the All-Star break, the Thunder’s two other regular starters — Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey — have taken on bigger roles on the offensive end.
The Thunder (47-20) hopes that trend continues Wednesday when it hosts the Utah Jazz (29-39).
Dort’s growth, in particular, has been critical to Oklahoma City’s rise. In his first four seasons, Dort never shot better than 34.3 percent from 3-point range.
His improvement was evident early in the season as he shot 39 percent from beyond the arc on 4.8 attempts per game in 52 games before the break. But since then, he’s been elite: 49.3 percent on 5.5 attempts per game in 13 games.
Only Boston’s Sam Hauser has a better 3-point shooting percentage (52.2%) since the break among players who have averaged at least five 3-point attempts per game during that span.
If Dort’s offense has taken a step forward, so has Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense. He leads the league with two interceptions per game.
“Steals are valuable,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when asked about Gilgeous-Alexander’s improvement. “When a possession ends with zero points for the other team, and we’ve led the league in turnovers or been up there. So winning that battle has been a big part of our defense. gave some margin of error in other areas, so it’s huge.”
The Thunder lead the league, forcing 15 turnovers per game, while the Jazz on Wednesday ranked near the bottom of the league in forced turnovers, at 11.6 per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander has five interceptions in three games against Utah this season.
Wednesday’s home game is the Thunder’s last before playing eight of 10 away. They then close out the regular season with four straight home games. Oklahoma City has won consecutive games and 12 of 15 and is in a tight race with Minnesota and Denver atop the Western Conference. The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 115-112 on Tuesday night, eliminating Minnesota (47-22), one game behind Oklahoma City and Denver (48-21).
The Jazz have lost two straight games and are just 3-13 since February 6.
Utah is hoping the return of Lauri Markkanen can help down the stretch. Markkanen had 22 points and 12 rebounds – but six turnovers – Monday in a loss to Minnesota; he played nearly 31 minutes in his return after missing six games with a quadriceps strain.
Although the Jazz aren’t likely to challenge for a play-in spot, Markkanen said he hopes his return will bring benefits down the line.
“I have to work on some things. I have to improve,” Markkanen said. “At the same time, I have to develop chemistry with the kids and really get that experience on the field against other teams, not just in practice. I think we can finish this year strong, improve and set a standard for us.”
Wednesday’s meeting is the last between the teams this season. The Thunder won two of the first three, including 134-120 at Oklahoma City on December 11.
