Through five games in the playoffs, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has stuck to his philosophy.
The Coach of the Year winner is known for having expanded rotations. During his tenure, Daigneault has discussed ad nauseam the benefits of keeping everybody warm.
It rewards players for sticking to the Thunder’s brand of basketball and keeps everybody engaged. Daigneault stuck with this mindset in his playoffs debut.
Nine Thunder players have averaged 12-plus minutes in the playoffs. Ten have averaged over seven minutes per contest. The approach has worked: OKC is 5-0 in the postseason so far.
Daigneault discussed his reasoning for keeping his playoff rotation lengthy instead of cutting it to the essential players.
“Every team is different. This particular team is deep. The difference between Player X and Player Y is not very much,” Daigneault said. “A lot of guys bring different things to the table. I’m of the mentality we may eventually need (someone). I think we can need Kenrich Williams in a series — maybe this one.
“I’ve had conversations with him about keeping himself ready. Just the mindset of expanding our options. It’s unfair to a guy to need him and go to him in a big spot when you have to dust him off to get him there.”
The 39-year-old referenced Aaron Wiggins’ monster performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He totaled 16 points in three quarters in OKC’s blowout win.
The backup wing has dealt with inconsistent playing time, but he’s averaged the seventh-most minutes on the Thunder since the playoffs started. When push comes to shove, Wiggins always shows out.
“Trying to keep everybody engaged. Trying to keep everybody ready. Give everybody a chance,” Daigneault said. “Wiggins is a great example last night. He was huge for us last night. I didn’t go into the game knowing that was going to be the case.
“He didn’t play until the second quarter. If you cut down to seven, maybe you’re not playing him on a given night. It’s what we’ve done all year. It’s what we trust.”
Mark Daigneault went in depth about his playoff rotations. Said he has a deep team, so he’ll take advantage of it:
“We’re not gonna allow what’s conventional get in the way of what we think is best in the moments… Who do you not want to play?” pic.twitter.com/4nlpicVahg
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 8, 2024
It’s an interesting and unconventional approach toward the playoffs that has worked so far. Daigneault has stuck to his guns and continues to coach postseason games as he did in the Thunder’s 57-win campaign.
That doesn’t mean Daigneault is locked into this mindset though. If the situation calls for it, the Coach of the Year winner is not afraid to shake up his strategy in hopes of collecting wins.
“There’s no shame in adjusting to your opponent. Sometimes, if the cost outweighs the benefit, you adjust based on what your opponent is doing,” Daigneault said. “We don’t really care who dictates the terms. Sometimes we do it, sometimes the opponent does it. We’re trying to figure out what the best thing for the team is.”
The Thunder are off to a hot start in their core’s playoff debut. They haven’t lost a game in over a month. Daigneault deserves a significant chunk of the credit for OKC’s success as his outside-the-box thinking gives it an edge.
