Jan 13, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers small forward Nicolas Batum (88) posts up against Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard DeAndre Liggins (25) at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Ligginsanity

We always talk about it as sports fans. The moment when a “no name” guy gets a slight and minor opportunity and takes full advantage of it. So many cases of this have been going on with Jeremy Lin in New York last year, Colin Kaepernick right now for the 49ers, so on and so forth. You don’t hear about it because it’s not a worldwide topic in a big market, but DeAndre Liggins has made a name for himself this week.

What Liggins does for this Oklahoma City team is obviously contagious. With Thabo Sefolosha out yesterday with a neck injury, Liggins got the start and did his job. He defends, rebounds, takes open shots when he gets them, and most of all brings that gritty, hard nosed effort to the floor. His stat line last night was awesome with 11 points and nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double. Here’s another big stat: Wes Matthews was  2-8 from the field with Liggins on him.

In the NBA, you need that guy who brings energy every night and when his time is called can come in and produce. Last year for the Thunder that was Royal Ivey, who is no longer with the team. He didn’t play much at all but when guys were out for a night, he came in and hit some pretty big shots.

However, let’s not get carried away here. Liggins has done a terrific job, but at the end of the day, when all are healthy it’s hard to fit him into the rotation. Scott Brooks obviously knows Liggins deserves to be on the floor but then yet again Sefolosha has a similar game in being a terrific defender too.

Now, it will be intriguing to see what’s in store for Liggins whose confidence should be heavy.  We will see the scenario tonight against the Suns.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

To make it in the NBA, most players have to find a role. They have to develop an elite skill that gives them value over a replacement. Unless you are a LeBron James or Kevin Durant, NBA careers aren’t simply handed to you, they are earned.

DeAndre Liggins is in the early stages of earning an NBA career right now. He’s earning minutes with the Oklahoma City Thunder by working hard every day and being ready at any moment to come in and play hard.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks has noticed this and that’s why we have seen Liggins as the newest regular to the Thunder rotation in the past few games.

When the Thunder traded James Harden, Daequan Cook and Cole Aldrich to the Houston Rockets this season, opportunities to make the 10-man rotation opened up.

Kevin Martin has filled the Harden role and Hasheem Thabeet has taken the Aldrich role. But the Cook role is still available.

So far this season, we have seen Brooks go with more minutes for Thabo Sefolosha and a 9-man rotation rather than one of the players at the end of the bench. Liggins is getting his chance now and so far has not disappointed.

The Thunder aren’t going to ask much from Liggins. They just want him to play hard. He has done just that showing that he can be a very capable defender as well as crashing the glass on the offensive end to gain extra possessions for the Thunder.

Liggins is just in his second year in the NBA and his game kind of resembles Tony Allen’s. He’s not even close to Allen’s level in terms of an elite defender and glue guy but Allen is definitely the player Liggins should model his game after.

You can immediately see the similarities on the offensive end. Liggins is always ready to cut backdoor and crash the glass unexpectedly, two things that can be very valuable to a team and especially a second unit.

Liggins is 6-foot-6, 209 pounds so he has the size to matchup with other wing players in the league. This is something the Thunder need in their rotation right now too. Durant and Sefolosha are really the only players playing for the Thunder right now that can guard other wings. Martin is a very poor defender and Westbrook is a little undersized.

This is why Liggins has a great chance to start earning more minutes for the Thunder. They have a need for a player like him. They need someone they can throw on LeBron for 5-8 minute stretches who might be able to hold his own.

Brooks is always looking to improve the Thunder defensively. That’s why we’re seeing Reggie Jackson in the backup point guard role instead of Eric Maynor right now. That’s why Kendrick Perkins will always get his minutes and that’s why Sefolosha’s playing time has increased.

It’s there for the taking for Liggins and the Thunder wouldn’t mind at all if he takes that role. OKC already has the best offense in the NBA so they aren’t looking for more scoring. They’re looking for Liggins and the energy he brings to the floor.

The Thunder have a long road trip ahead of them right now. Liggins will likely continue to get some chances in those games. It’s the perfect situation for someone like him to rise to the occasion and prove he is of value.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived Andy Rautins, Daniel Orton and Hollis Thompson today meaning that DeAndre Liggins has won the team’s final roster spot.

Liggins definitely earned this as he did not come into training camp and preseason necessarily as the favorite. The spot was up for grabs and Liggins was impressive enough to earn the spot.

Here is what Liggins did in the preseason:

• He played 25 minutes vs. Houston in the first preseason game and scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• He started and played 26 minutes vs. Charlotte. He scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting including a three and grabbed six boards.
• Against Phoenix he started again and played 23 minutes. He scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• He came off the bench vs. Denver and only played four minutes, scoring two points with one rebound.
• He played 26 minutes off the bench vs. Chicago. He didn’t score but had four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Liggins was described as Thabo-lite by some, an athlete on the wing who can defend and fill up the stat sheet somewhat in other ways too. He isn’t known as a great shooter but did appear to fit in very nicely with the Thunder in the preseason.

There was some thought that Orton should have won the 15th spot over Liggins. Orton would be the fourth center on the roster but depth at that position, especially when thinking about the future, isn’t a bad thing.

It’s going to take injuries for him to get any playing time or even suit up this season. The Thunder are just too stacked at the wing position.

Liggins is definitely someone who could develop into a very solid role player in this league and maybe that will be with the Thunder down the road. Sefolosha may not be around forever with this team and Liggins is someone who could be a possible replacement in a few years.

Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed DeAndre Liggins and Andy Rautins to their training camp roster, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The Thunder roster is pretty much set in stone unless one of these players seriously breaks out. The Thunder already signed free agent Hasheem Thabeet and undrafted rookie Hollis Thompson earlier this summer. Later they signed Daniel Orton to a nonguaranteed contract.

We essentially have a situation now where Lazar Hayward, Thabeet, Orton, Thompson and now Liggins and Rautins will compete for the last three spots on the 15-man roster. The top 12 spots are pretty secure in Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha, Cook, Collison, Maynor, Jones, Jackson and Aldrich.

Liggins was drafted 53rd overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. He appeared in 17 games in his rookie season averaging 6.8 minutes per game and 1.9 points per game. He shot 48 percent from the field and 47 percent from the free throw line and made no threes.

Liggins is an athletic wing who needs to become an elite defender to make it in this league especially since he has little to no range. The Thunder have no business having someone like him make the roster who simply cannot make the three.

Rautins can shoot the three and made a name for himself doing so in college for Syracuse making 282 career threes in four years. He was drafted 38th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. He did not play in the NBA last season and two years ago played just 24 total minutes in five games for the Knicks.

Rautins played in Spain last year for Lucentum. He played 18 games for them and averaged 12.0 points per game through the first 12. He injured his foot after that and did not play anymore.