Mark Daigneault addressed the media on Tuesday ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals after his Oklahoma City Thunder dropped Game 1 in a 122-115 double-overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder coach focused on adjustments, execution, and discipline against a Spurs side led by Victor Wembanyama.
Daigneault opened by assessing the interior defense and San Antonio’s late-game adjustments, saying, “Combination of things. I agree with that assessment. When you’re looking at a game like that, you’re trying to find what’s sustainable for you and the opponent. Certainly Wembanyama getting around the basket, being able to dunk the ball or us having to foul out of weakness, you know, to prevent a layup is sustainable. You know, the more you give those up, those are very predictably efficient shots.”
He added that Oklahoma City’s early resistance in the paint did not hold throughout the contest. “We did a better job early. Credit them. I thought they calibrated to the game well, attacked us well down the stretch. Got to their spots, put us in some tough dilemmas, so they did a nice job.”
A key topic was how to increase involvement for Chet Holmgren offensively. Daigneault explained, “It’s a good question. I think, you know, the general attacks of the offense will benefit everybody, put everybody at advantages, including him.” He added, “I think if we play better collectively he’ll be more involved and we’ll be able to get more cracks offensively.”
On Holmgren’s defensive role, particularly in matchups against Wembanyama, Daigneault emphasized flexibility. “Yeah, I mean everything’s on the table, you know, like in these series. You can’t just throw one pitch throughout the whole series.”
He continued by stressing adaptation as the series evolves. “We have reasons why we approached the game, why we did last night. Some of that was the regular season matchup. Some of that was the stuff that we saw in the first couple rounds from ourselves and from them. But in these series, you know, one of the things you got to do is you got to figure out what the problems are and you got to put the fires out pretty quickly.”
Daigneault also pointed to offensive structure as a driver for improved output from key players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s, you know, running better stuff, but also, you know, just collectively having a better intentionality and approach. That’s going to give us more advantages, put the defense in more dilemmas.”
He added that efficiency depends on collective execution rather than isolation adjustments. “When we do that, he’s going to show up in a big way. But I think it’s more of a reflection of our offense collectively.”
Reflecting on Game 1’s flow and playoff experience, Daigneault leaned on perspective. “It’s a series. It’s a long series. You know, we not going to be perfect.” He added, “We’re able to turn the page and face the next game with a 0-0 mentality and just go out there and try to win the game.”
The Thunder coach also acknowledged the challenge presented by San Antonio’s defensive complexity and physical presence. “They’re obviously really good,” he said. “It’s a relatively unfamiliar opponent. And, you know, we’re unfamiliar to them.”
Looking ahead to Game 2, Daigneault kept the focus on growth and correction after a narrow defeat in a high-volume possession game. “We just have to be a better team in game two.”
