Game 53: Oklahoma City Thunder (35-16) vs. Dallas Mavericks (29-23)

[dirkfansince1998]

One thing I didn't like about the 2nd is that when the Thunder went super small ball he took off Gafford and put in Maxi. Would've been interested to see a Maxi+Gafford combo and eat in the paint.

Considering that the Maxi small ball minutes looked great and that the defense wasn't looking as good in the Gafford minutes it's easy to understand why. A big like Gafford (even Gobert) is helpless when he ends up on an island against a player like Williams or SGA. Maxi on the other hand is probably a better perimeter defender than most guards/wings.
First game for Gafford and he is making an impact on the offensive end but defensively this is one of the worst matchups for him. OKC has a stretch big and basically all of their guys can attack of the catch/dribble.