Thunder player grades from win over defending champs

B-. I’m actually slightly surprised by Jerami Grant only playing 17 minutes; his athleticism and length is perfectly suited to defend Cleveland’s inside/outside game. When Grant did play, though, he impacted the game just as you would expect. The 22-year old scored two points on an easy dunk, grabbed two defensive rebounds and topped it off with a highlight-reel block on Tristan Thompson (poor guy will try to forget this game as quickly as possible). As enticing as Grant is as a stretch four, I almost get more excited when he’s playing small forward. As great as Andre Roberson’s play has been recently (more on that later), his offensive ineptitude is going to make it incredibly difficult for OKC to resign him. Well Grant has the potential to be just as good at defense as Roberson while also providing more pure athleticism and offensive ability. Plus with Grant’s contract running out after next season the Thunder could sign him to a cheap extension a la how the Celts locked in Jae Crowder. IDK just a thought…. Small Forward. OKC Thunder. JERAMI GRANT