Separated by a screen, Lu Dort quickly caught up to Luka Doncic, who tricked the defensive stopper into bumping into him and drew the shooting foul.
Less than three minutes into Game 4, Dort picked up a costly second foul. Conventional wisdom would suggest that’d mean the 25-year-old would get subbed out.
Traditionally speaking, the risk of Dort picking up additional fouls in the first half doesn’t outweigh the benefits. A nightmare scenario for the Thunder was on the horizon. Being without their best POA defender down the stretch of a close fourth quarter against Doncic could’ve been detrimental.
But Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has always been a very calculated coach, absorbing data and figuring out the best course of action depending on potential outcomes.
Instead of removing Dort early in the season’s biggest game, Daigneault stuck to his philosophy of playing players through foul trouble.
The calculated risk paid off tremendously.
Dort flirted with fouling out but ultimately logged 40 minutes. He was part of the Thunder’s closing lineup in their 14-point comeback win over the Mavericks in Game 4 to even the series at two apiece.
Dort’s been superb in the playoffs. He continues to add to his mythos of being a postseason riser. After limiting Brandon Ingram to 14.3 points on 34.5% shooting in a Round 1 sweep, he’s held Doncic to a pedestrian 22 points on 39% shooting through four games of Round 2.
The multi-time All-Star had his worst outing yet in Game 4. Doncic finished with 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 2-of-9 from 3 and committed seven turnovers.
A large reason why the lackluster performance by Dallas’ superstar materialized was Daigneault’s decision to trust Dort’s discipline. He remained in the game and only sat out eight minutes.
The Coach of the Year winner is a heavy leaner on analytics. His innovative mindset has helped him become one of the best head coaches in the league.
When it comes to handling players with foul trouble, his approach toward that scenario is another example of a long list where Daigneault is ahead of the curve.
“It’s something our data science guide — one of our guys pointed it out to me — as something to think about,” Daigneault said on his philosophy towards players with foul trouble. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought it had some legs.”
Daigneault quickly realized that the fear of a player fouling out is blown out of proportion. The 39-year-old will not let a small possibility heavily influence how he coaches a game.
“So we did it for a couple of years there. What you learn is there’s a lot of games where they don’t even foul out and (Dort) didn’t foul out last night,” Daigneault said. “He finished with five and yet played physically. He didn’t try to avoid fouls. He guarded Doncic the whole time.”
Daigneault further explained his approach toward players in foul trouble aligns with his general philosophy of being an aggressive head coach. That’s most obvious with his usage of challenges. The 39-year-old seldom leaves them unused, knowing they don’t translate to future games.
“I like erring on the side of aggressiveness with a lot of things. I think chance favors the aggressor. I try to be aggressive with a lot of things. I think it sets a good tone with the team,” Daigneault said. “We want them to play aggressively. I need to coach aggressively if I want to expect that from them.”
The Thunder have developed a gem of a head coach with Daigneault. He spent years behind the scenes crafting how he wants to coach. It’s propelled him into being one of the best in his profession.
Since being named head coach, Daigneault’s stuck true to the principles he’s honed in during the early stages of the rebuild to the playoffs.
Trusting Dort to limit Doncic without fouling out by citing analytics is the latest example of how the 39-year-old is more modernistic than the average NBA head coach.
