OKC Thunder: The Rich List, Volume Five
By Rich Condon
The Rich List Weekly Awards
Sixth man of the week:
Zach Randolph:
Z-Bo moved to the bench for rookie head coach Dave Fizdale, and has since put forth an extremely credible Sixth Man of the Year season that nobody outside of Memphis seems to be talking about. Z-Bo was second in the league amongsbench players with 22.5 points a night, and he led all reserves with 11 rebounds a game. To quote the immortal Notorious B.I.G, Z-Bo’s “been a terror since the public school era.”
Clutch performance of the week:
Two clutch performances really stood out this week, and both players are Thunder Buddies:
Russ vs. Utah:
Dion v GSW:
Defensive Play(s) of the Week
Norman Powell Steal, Dunk on Spurs:
Norman Powell channeled his inner cornerback, reading and intercepting the wayward pass leading to an easy and thunderous transition dunk.
Terrence Jones Rejects LeBron:
When you call yourself the King, it’s even more notable when things don’t go your way on the court. Terrence Jones rose up and denied LeBron at the rim in New Orleans’ stunning win against the reeling Cavaliers.
Draymond Blocks Blake, Dunks on Other End:
This was one of the better two-way plays I’ve seen so far this year. Being able to stay in front of a charging Blake Griffin is no easy task.
Game(s) of the Week
Houston vs Philly:
What’s not to love in this one: James Harden puts up his second 50 point triple-double of the season and Joel Embiid set a new career high 32 points. Plus, plenty of posterizing dunks.
OKC vs. Utah:
The Thunder were able to outlast the Utah Jazz in a mid-season battle between two Western Conference playoff teams. Russell Westbrook had a sensational 4th quarter.
Team(s) of the Week
Washington Wizards, Miami Heat:
Once again, Washington has been the hottest team in the NBA recently, having won 8 of their last 10, and they haven’t lost at home since December 6th. In their last 15 games, Washington is 11-4.
Meanwhile, the supposedly tanking Miami Heat went 4-0 this week. Also, the Heat are on a 7-game winning streak.
The Heat are doing this without Justice Winslow, and Tyler Johnson has missed the last few games as well. Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside are having great seasons for the Heat, and this run, highlighted by the stunning win over Golden State, has been impressive.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Check back next week as the NBA gears up for the All-Star break and the Rich List serves up the best of January 31st to February 6th.