On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded from Friday’s loss against the Memphis Grizzlies with a dominant 121-103 victory over the Washington Wizards.
That the club was able to do so without the services of Steven Adams further demonstrates one of its biggest strengths — its depth.
Like Darius Bazley, Mike Muscala took full advantage of the playing time he got, as the Thunder were also playing without reserve big man Nerlens Noel.
Musala got the start in place of Adams and ended the night with 14 points and three rebounds. More importantly, though, was the fact that Muscala was able to provide effective floor-spacing for the club, something that Steven Adams isn’t equipped to do.
By the time the game had ended, Muscala hot connected on four of his eight three-point attempts. After missing each of the team’s last two games due to a concussion, he clearly hadn’t skipped a beat.
According to the big man, the key is staying ready.
“It always feels good to make shots, but shout out to the whole team,” Muscala said to reporters when asked how it felt to see his shots go down.
“I think everyone does their part to put the work in in practice. We were playing 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 yesterday in practice, just trying to stay ready, everybody down the line.”
The term “down the line” is one that the club has used quite a bit this season. No strangers to injuries and extended absences, the club has leaned on a different set of contributions across the entire season. It’s one of the factors that has the team feeling pretty good about itself as it heads toward the playoffs.
“It’s a total team effort,” Muscala said of the Thunder’s success.
“Coaches involved, everybody, and we’re just taking things one game at a time, it’s been fun so far.”
With Sunday’s win, the Thunder improved to 3-2 in Orlando and will square off against the Phoenix Suns in their lone back-to-back set of the resumption. The action will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
