Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo swatted at the ball behind him, testing his reach in case there was an opportunity for a steal. But he didn’t forfeit his position.
That became important a second later when a pass flew into the hands of Portland guard CJ McCollum, Diallo’s defensive assignment.
Diallo anticipated the pass and closed out on McCollum. The sharp-shooter drove the lane, but Diallo shuffled in lockstep in front of him. McCollum heaved up a midrange jumper as the shot clock expired, but Diallo threw his left arm up and blocked the shot.
“Right now, I’ve got a lot of confidence in him just because he’s been reliable,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said of Diallo, “and I think that’s probably the biggest thing with a young player, is how reliable can you be on the things you can control?