After the second loss in the series, and with all the noise surrounding the officiating, it’s not something that interests me or feels worth diving into right now. I understand and expect that it’s what everyone is talking about. Personally, I want to talk about the team’s fourth quarter in Game 2 (which the Suns won 30–20) and what worked tactically. Let’s break all of that down together.
You know the routine: a quick statistical checkpoint is needed to have plenty of numbers in mind while reading! As mentioned above, the Suns won that last part of the game 30-20. The difference came from efficiency and physical presence on the boards: Phoenix shot 55% and 43% from 3, while Oklahoma was held to 30% and 20%. Then, on the glass, the Suns won 13–9 (Maluach’s impact?).
After a pretty tight first half and a third quarter completely dominated by OKC to close out the game, you could’ve thought Phoenix was going to keep collapsing like in Game 1…but that was without counting on the pride and courage that have defined this team for the past 6 to 7 months. In fact (even if we know the Thunder did relax a bit), the Suns even went on a 20–4 run to erase the 10‑point lead.
There was good stuff in those 12 minutes, especially the total presence of Maluach, a strong and ambitious tactical choice from Jordan Ott to respond to the Thunder’s physicality, with Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams rotating in. Khaman had an immediate deterrent effect: OKC scored 48 points in the paint, but only 4 of them came in the final quarter.
An impact you notice right away on this sequence (and it bodes well for the future): the moment SGA blows by Booker, you can see Khaman sliding toward the middle to help and stop the drive. The Thunder guard anticipates it and passes to Mitchell, who is pretty poorly positioned (luckily) to take the shot, so he pump fakes, takes Brooks off balance, and drives to the rim. Except Maluach read the play perfectly and comes to shut the door and contest.
This sequence happens late in the game, but it sums up everything Khaman Maluach represents: deterrence, rim protection, and defensive intelligence. He was even placed on Alex Caruso to maximize his strengths and avoid having him chase Chet, who stays a lot on the perimeter. Whether in Game 1 or Game 2, I found that the Suns had a pretty good way of cutting off driving lanes (packing the paint, rotating with help, and having a second line that doesn’t hesitate to attack instead of reacting).
Again, here with Shai: he drops Brooks with his first step, but Maluach and O’Neal are there in help to stop him from going up, so he’s forced to pass to a perimeter player. Result: you go from an almost guaranteed two points to a three‑pointer that has half the chance of going in.
Then let’s talk about our good old Dillon. If there’s one player who deserves credit during this run, it’s him: 13 points and 5 rebounds in this quarter. He was the dynamo, the bulldozer of the team, and the play below perfectly represents his mindset and the way you need to play against this Thunder team: with pace, power, and boldness. You have to play their game without turning it into a caricature.
Finally, I want to show you the sequence that, for me, kick‑starts this run: it begins with Royce O’Neal in full guard‑dog mode, completely limiting Mitchell’s progress and forcing him into a tough layup — Maluach then wins his battle inside against Hart, allowing O’Neal to intercept the pass and run in transition. Dillon finishes this perfect sequence with a running three‑pointer.
The Suns are still far from where they need to be, but they’re slowly getting closer to the key to competing even more with them. They’re clearly not invincible (a pretty close first half and a last quarter dominated by Phoenix); the big issue remains the turnovers — they’re Christmas gifts for the Thunder — and the impact of Booker and Green, who I don’t find at the postseason level yet. To be continued in Game 3.
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