Dion Waiters did that thing he does. That clearout long 2-pointer that makes analytic gurus cringe. That it doesn’t matter time, clock or personnel — Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the floor, tie game against the Spurs in a high-profile opener — he’s confident he’s gonna make it. So he’s gonna take it.
It’s what he was roasted for all offseason.
But it’s what vaulted the Thunder to a win on Wednesday night, 112-106, over a healthy Spurs team that looked every bit the title contender they expect to be.
A highly entertaining opener in front of a raucous OKC crowd navigated itself to a 101-101 tie with less than three minutes left.
Out of a timeout, the Thunder identified a mismatch. Danny Green was on Russell Westbrook. Six-foot-two Tony Parker had shifted onto 6-foot-6 Dion Waiters.
The Thunder offense spread and gave him room. Waiters went to work on Parker.
Twenty-one-foot fadeaway. Splash. Then a defensive stop.
Fourteen-foot fadeaway. Splash. A four-point lead OKC would never relinquish.
“Got a chance to do what I do,” Waiters said. “We went to the mismatch, and I made big shots.”
As Durant would later put it, the integration of Waiters “makes us less predictable in the fourth quarter.” Green, a solid defender, was on Westbrook during those crucial offensive sets. Kawhi Leonard, the league’s best defender, was hounding Durant.
Beyond those two, and after a heavy drop-off, Waiters is the Thunder’s third best shot-creator. With Parker, an undersized and subpar defender checking the barrel-chested shooting guard, the strategy made sense.
Analytics be damned, long 2s won the game.
“It’s interesting because I agree with the analytics,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I think you need to attack the paint and take advantage of the 3-point line. That’s the most efficient way to score.”
But…
“Sometimes you need guys late-clock who can make those shots,” Donovan said. “…Dion, I think, is learning the balance between that.”
It’s only one game. The first of 82, as the Thunder is quick to remind. But after an offseason — and career, really — filled with criticism, this had to feel nice for Waiters. Maybe his most significant NBA moment to this point, considering he’s never even appeared in a playoff game. And it came on a national stage.
“Felt great,” he said, flashing a sly smile.
And he wasn’t the only one. Last season, Enes Kanter faced a tidal wave of criticism aimed at his defense. This summer, the Thunder got killed for matching his max contract. He saw it all.
On Wednesday, Kanter was a force off the bench. During the middle pockets of the game, he kept the Thunder in it with his bruising offensive rebounding. In only 24 minutes off the bench, Kanter’s 16 rebounds were double what anyone else in the game produced. Six came on the offensive end.
“Enes was a bull down low on the boards all night,” Durant said.
“That is not anything new to us,” Westbrook said. “That is what he does.”
After the game, all Kanter wanted to talk about was defense. He had some lapses, as did the team. But in general, he held his own in some key spots. He seemed proud.
“Eighty-five, 90 percent of what we talk about is defense,” Kanter said. “So I’m really trying to lock in on defense.”
But, Enes, you don’t mind dropping a 15-point, 16-rebound double-double either, right?
“You know, what?” he smiled. “It happens sometimes.”
And it was key on Wednesday night.
Kanter’s interior production paved the way for Waiters’ heroics and two of the league’s most polarizing young talents, constantly questioned for their ability to fit into a winning culture, passed their first test.
Comments