Qualified for the second round after its sweep against the Pelicans, the Thunder can say thank you to Luguentz Dort. The OKC swingman was incredible locking down Brandon Ingram throughout the series.
In 2020, a young guard made a splash in the first round of the Playoffs by successfully defending against James Harden, then a scoring arsonist and top scorer in the NBA. This young stranger was Luguentz Dort. Since then, the favorite bulldog of the Thunder fanbase has become a reference and one of the best defenders on the outside positions in the NBA. Sent every evening against the best opposing attacker, Dort has made defense his credo. Do you see that the best player finishes at 30% on the shoot? Dort has been there.
Against the Pelicans, Luguentz Dort’s mission was to calm Brandon Ingram, a player capable of stringing together the strings on a large scale when he is confident and has found his zone. Except that he never found confidence in this series. From Game 1 to Game 4, Ingram went through real hell because of Dort’s defense, well supported by young Cason Wallace. Despite his size advantage, Brandon Ingram was never able to find the solution, too hampered by the defensive intelligence and power of Luguentz Dort.
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/cGdaPAvoNc
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) April 30, 2024
With Zion Williamson absent for the entire series, we expected to see Brandon Ingram pull out all the stops and score in abundance to keep his team in the match. It has not happened…
Brandon Ingram this regular season is 20.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. During the series against the Thunder, his stats dropped to 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and more than 2 turnovers per game. The percentages? 34.5% overall and only 25% by far.. Totally locked down the Ingram.
The All-Star winger even saved the worst for last with a terrible 2/14 shooting last night in a home elimination match. This is a bit of a stain for someone who had to provide leadership in the absence of Zion Williamson who was greatly missed by his family.
Source texte : StatMuse
2024-04-30 10:35:00
#Luguentz #Dort #TURNED #Brandon #Ingram #Playoffs
