OKC Big 3 debut – clip Pelicans 102-91, Player Grades
Best Reserve:
SF/PF. Oklahoma City Thunder. TERRANCE FERGUSON. A.
Although there were other standouts, the rookie earns the nod for his tenacity, poise and production. There is an obvious need for the youngster to gain muscle and experience. That said, he has great instincts and no fear. He took two physical shots, shook it off and dove right back in. He was the team’s highest plus/minus at +13, and while that’s not always an indicator of actual performance it happened to be a true reflection on this evening. Furthermore, the kid has a swagger without being arrogant. It’s more a matter of him being confident in his game.
TFerg’s stat line was impressive: in 24 minutes he scored 9 points on 50 percent shooting, equaling that percentage from deep (1 of 2) adding 3 rebounds, and a block. One particular rebound offered the ooh and ahh factor as he one armed cuffed a rebound to pull it away from his opponent.
If I were Donovan I’d be keeping him on the squad or having him get minutes in with the blue as well as the varsity team. Once Patterson and Abrines return they’ll jump ahead of him in the rotation as Grant is already. But, there is more than enough (even in this small sample size) to be giddy about.
Best Opponent:
B-. . PF. New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY DAVIS
Anthony Davis remains one of the best big man talents in the NBA. However, it’s preseason and his body language isn’t good. This does not look like a team who is confident. Since Davis is the leader, he needs to be the one setting the tone. Davis played a pedestrian 17 minutes scoring 14 points, snagging 7 rebounds along with 2 blocks. The negatives were his 3 turnovers and minus 8 differential.
In fairness, the early injury and loss of Rondo only served to punctuate the biggest problem with this Pelicans team -a lack of depth and a poorly constructed roster.
Although I preach not to get too high or too low about preseason wins or losses if I were a Pelican fan I’d be very concerned about the body language on the court.
Further, when the Thunder had their Big 3 on the court (in what was their first real minutes together) they looked like the far superior team. Davis, ‘Cousins, Holiday and co have been together far longer, but they looked like the team who’ve only just begun playing together.
Certainly the twin towers will be a handful, it’s just not clear if it will be enough.