The decision to take Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the lineup started the Thunder’s tank. Al Horford was sent home. Luguentz Dort sat out games for rest that he would have played if the Thunder were pushing to achieve something. What resulted was some of the ugliest basketball that I have seen in a long time.
There was no sense of collective in the lineups that the Thunder ran towards the end of last season. Oklahoma City played minutes for the sake of development not for any real desire to win games of basketball. As a Thunder fan, it was difficult to watch.