NEW ORLEANS — The Oklahoma City Thunder are standing up for their players.
After Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel said Lou Dort was constantly flopping and asked the NBA to investigate Lou Dort's defensive methods, the Thunder announced Sunday via its X/Twitter PR account that , essentially responded on Sunday with a tweet that overturned the flop technical the league had asked Dort to do. Friday's Phoenix vs. OKC game.
The Thunder also noted that the NBA overturned two of Dort's three flop techs that were called after a league review.
After Saturday's practice in New Orleans, Vogel was very vocal about Dort when he mentioned the Suns' turnovers (43-31) in Friday's 128-103 loss to the Thunder in OKC.
“The league has to take into account the ridiculous debacle of how Lou Dort got the call. If they're going to get a call like that, you're going to have an advantage,” Vogel said. Told. You can't just fall over and get the whistle blown every time you make contact. ”
Vogel claimed that half of Phoenix's 14 turnovers were “whistle” or dead-ball turnovers. Dort drew offensive fouls on 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic in the fourth quarter and Kevin Durant in the first quarter.
The Suns committed four offensive fouls, Grayson Allen was whistled for traveling twice and Eric Gordon was called out of bounds.
The call prompted Nurkic to poke at veteran umpire Scott Foster, who was crew chief for Friday's game.
“Scott Foster, he just needs to know that Chris Paul isn't going to play on this team anymore,” Nurkic said, referring to the numerous arguments Paul and Foster have had over the years. Paul played three seasons with the Suns.
The Thunder scored 15 points off Phoenix's 14 total turnovers.
Dort has established himself as a physical perimeter defender, and it shows in his work. In his fifth season out of Arizona State, the 6-4, 220-pound undrafted guard plays in more contact without getting called for fouls, like, say, Marcus Smart. Smart was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season.
The Suns are 0-3 against the Thunder this season, and OKC was without All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Friday's loss was an embarrassing loss by as many as 29 points.
Vogel said after the game that the Thunder (51-22) were a “tough” matchup for the Suns.
“They're young, fast, athletic, they shoot hard and they defend,” Vogel said after Friday's loss. “We still haven't found the blueprint of how to beat them. All three games were tough for us.”
Vogel went on to say that the Suns “need to take a look at this matchup” against the Thunder because it could be a postseason series.
“I wouldn't say it wasn't a good matchup,” Durant said after Friday's game. “They beat us three times. It was tough, but I like having a chance against everyone. Who knows if we'll see them again, but they have Hats off to them. They're playing a great brand of basketball.”
The Suns and Thunder could potentially meet in the first round. If the playoffs started today, OKC would be the No. 1 seed in the West, and the Suns would host the Kings in a 7-8 play-in game. Phoenix is 2-2 against the Kings this season, and the teams will meet once again on April 12 in Sacramento.
If the Suns lose that game 7-8, they will play the winner of the Lakers-Warriors game (9-10) at home for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. If they win there, Phoenix will open the 2024 postseason in OKC.
Therefore, Vogel's openness about Dort's defense will likely cause more eyes, especially officials, to pay attention to Dort's defense if the Thunder and Suns meet again in the playoffs. .
Have an opinion on the current state of the Suns? Contact Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or 480-787-1240. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter). @Duane Rankin.
Support local journalism.Start your online subscription.
