DENVER — Hours before the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 92-87 Game 4 win, while players were on the floor with coaches working on the mechanical aspects of their individual games, Thunder guard Lu Dort could be found slumped in a courtside seat, poring over defensive film with Thunder assistant David Akinyooye.
This season, Dort made a conscious shift in his pregame routine. NBA players are creatures of habit, and it’s commonplace to see them warm up on the court before retreating to sift through a few game clips, if at all. But Dort flipped it, opting to exercise his brain before touching a basketball.
Dort, as Oklahoma City’s most dynamic defender, needs to constantly sharpen his mind. And while his offensive contributions were a big part of their historic 68-win regular season, it’s Dort’s importance at the other end of the floor that explains why so much attention has to be paid to the finest of details. In this series, which is now tied at 2-2, Dort’s primary, secondary and tertiary objective is to slow down Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray.
Read more on the Thunder’s Game 4 win below.
GO FURTHER
How Thunder won the Jamal Murray matchup — and ultimately a critical Game 4 vs. Nuggets