OKC Thunder: Not Your Usual End-of-Season Awards
By David Ramil
January 5, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jeremy Lamb (11) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 117-91. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Best Underrated Skill Winner: Jeremy Lamb
How do you measure the little things? They don’t wind up, as the saying goes, in the boxscore but to loyal fans they have an incredible impact. Maybe it’s the way, they shoot the ball or the way they wear a hard hat when they get to work playing defense. Or, maybe they’re just entertaining as hell before the game even starts.
Van Sant: Nick Collison’s Defense – Is it a coincidence that OKC’s eight-game winning streak came to an end when Collison suffered a sprained ankle? The Thunder’s defense suffered and they lost six of their last eight games. “Nicky C” is a supreme pick-and-roll defender as well as communicator on the defensive side of the ball and he was sorely missed by the team.
Ramil: Anthony Morrow’s catch-and-shoot: Morrow’s ability to catch a chest-high pass and immediately extend into his shooting motion allows him to pull one of the quickest triggers in NBA history.
Woods: Kevin Durant – Durant’s pregame routine is very underrated. He mixes excitement with a cool composure of what’s about to happen.
Lambert: Jeremy Lamb’s Celebrations – Due to his lack of playing time, he has a lot of free time to come up with fun and creative celebrations/handshakes.
Stephens: Andre Roberson’s Defense – Roberson got a lot of hate for his lack of offense and understandably so because it was just so horrendous, but his great defense was overlooked in the process. He was actually a pretty good perimeter defender this season and I think that he will only get better next season. His defensive skill went unheralded this season but who can blame the fans, his offensive game left a lot to be desired on the court.
Riggs: Russell Westbrook’s left-handed layups – Has anybody ever made more difficult layups with their offhand than Russell Westbrook did this season? After breaking his hand in the second game, he had to wear a protective brace on his hand for about a month, but his play didn’t suffer, in part because of his left hand. Westbrook is naturally left-handed, but is a right handed basketball player.
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