April 21, 2026, 5:47 p.m. MT
OKLAHOMA CITY — Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott was adamant about not taking part in 1-on-1 in opposition to the Oklahoma City Thunder after the staff’s horrid 119-84 loss April 19 to the defending NBA champions at Paycom Center to open this best-of-7 first-round collection.
“We can’t iso this team,” Ott stated. “We can’t hold the ball against this team. We can’t take tough 2s all night against this team.”
The Suns have made it some extent of emphasis in making ready for Wednesday’s Game 2 April 22 after committing 19 turnovers that led to 34 Oklahoma City factors in Game 1.
“Definitely something we can’t do against them,” Suns guard Collin Gillespie stated. “They have really good defenders. They play great team defense. They move as one.”
Dillon Brooks agrees with the Game 2 plan of attack — with a disclaimer.
“I think it is, but I’m going to iso Shai when I get a chance to,” a smiling Brooks stated after Tuesday’s follow on the area.
That’s reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by the way in which.
Why him?
“Why not?” Brooks later said. “He’s a good defender overall, but I just like the matchup. Team Canada, we’ve been going at it for a while. I won’t forget our 1-on-1s that we had in Paris. You can ask him who got the best of who.”
Proceed.
“But you see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defense,” Brooks continued. “I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end, most of the time, he’s going to break down and then you can go out and make plays.”
The Suns shot 34.9%, going 13-of-39 from 3 in losing Game 1 by 35 points as they trailed by as many as 39 points.
Brooks went 6-of-22 for the game in scoring 18 points, but he believes there’s a healthy balance between moving the ball and playing 1-on-1.
“They’re going to force you to make passes and make shots, old school basketball,” Brooks said. “That’s the only way we’re going to break down their defense or any defense for that matter. There are going to be times we’re going to be in iso and get our shots late in the shot clock, but we’ve got to be unselfish and find a way to share the basketball.”
Gillespie agrees.
“(The Thunder) are at all times on a string (on protection) so we’ve to be like that on offense, on a string when guys are dribbling the ball,” he said. “There’s going to be conditions iso occurs, however we’ve to have the option to transfer off the ball for these guys to give them assist.”
Have opinions concerning the present state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, previously Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support native journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com right this moment.
