After starting off the year 24-1, the OKC Thunder have fallen into a middling rut over their last eight games, seeing their first losing streak of the season while going 4-4 along the way.
Though there are plenty of factors that contributed to this downward trajectory, in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's eyes, the club's drop-off in production on the less glamorous side of the ball is what truly seems to stand out.
At least, that's what he seemed to suggest following Monday's 11-point win over the Atlanta Hawks, where he noted during his postgame media session that, over the past few weeks, what he and the team have been reminded of is that "we gotta get back to ourselves, especially defensively," for, as he put it, "that's where we hang our hat.