Thunderous Intentions
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Player Grades: Thunder cruise by Dallas Mavericks for second-straight win

By Sinjin Snope

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 12: OKC Thunder Guard Russell Westbrook (0) looking to make a play while Dallas Mavericks Guard Yogi Ferrell (11) plays defense during the Oklahoma City Thunder game versus the Dallas Mavericks on November 12, 2017, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 12: OKC Thunder Guard Russell Westbrook (0) looking to make a play while Dallas Mavericks Guard Yogi Ferrell (11) plays defense during the Oklahoma City Thunder game versus the Dallas Mavericks on November 12, 2017, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 25: Patrick Patterson #54 of the OKC Thunder looks to make a pass during a game against the Indiana Pacers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 25: Patrick Patterson #54 of the OKC Thunder looks to make a pass during a game against the Indiana Pacers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Best Reserve

PF/C. Oklahoma City Thunder. PATRICK PATTERSON. B.

There was not much action from the OKC Thunder bench unit tonight. This was mainly due to the team being down two starters but they still could have played better. A bright spot, however, was backup center/forward Patrick Patterson.

His box score statistics won’t jump out at anyone, (7 points 4 boards), but his passing and defense was good tonight. I’d like to see Patterson get more run with the starting unit as his quick decisions and shooting ability are assets to this team. Keep an eye on him going forward.

Best Maverick

HARRISON BARNES. B. . SF. Dallas Mavericks

The former Golden State Warrior was the best player on the floor for a struggling Mavericks team tonight. He finished the game with a team high 22 points and also added 13 boards. It’s nice to see a player such as Harrison Barnes play well after being treated relatively poorly by his previous team.

Closing Thoughts

Tonight’s game was rather boring for the most part. That could be a positive thing for this OKC Thunder team. It’s always important to win the game’s that you should. They did that this evening.

I feel bad for Dirk Nowitzki. One of the best players of the modern NBA era stuck on a poor team. But you do have to applaud his loyalty, something Russell Westbrook has quite a bit of.

More from Thunderous Intentions

Speaking of Westbrook, he switched shoes at halftime and played much better after doing so. Coincidence? I think not.

Winning a game without two starters is hard no matter the team faced, so kudos to the OKC Thunder for accomplishing that tonight.

Ball movement, also known as the theme of this season, was improved once again tonight. Maybe all that screaming Billy D is doing at practice is finally hitting home with the players.

This team is elite when it comes to defense. The size may not be there, but the speed and athleticism to compete with the league’s best is already in place.

Dennis Smith Jr. is going to be a good player in this league. Didn’t play particularly well this evening, but plays much older than a rookie normally does.

The Thunder are now 6-7 and are on a two game win streak. Slowly but surely making progress.

Oklahoma City is home once again this Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls. Be sure to check out all of our pre-game coverage leading up to that one in the coming days. For a full box score of tonight’s game, click this link. 

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