Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

Grading the Thunder’s terrifying yet tremendous triple overtime victory

By Tony Heim

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 15: Steven Adams
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 15: Steven Adams /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 15: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder waves goodbye after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 15, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The OKC Thunder defeated the 76ers 119-117 in triple overtime. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 15: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder waves goodbye after the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 15, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The OKC Thunder defeated the 76ers 119-117 in triple overtime. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Final Thoughts

  • Raymond Felton and Josh Huestis were crucial to this victory. They combined to shoot 8-13 from the field and 5-6 from deep while also positively contributing on the defensive end. I hate saying this, but if Alex Abrines continues to struggle with his shot Huestis is going to start eating away at his minutes.
  • Sam Presti traded for Jerami Grant last year. Now he needs to acquire Richaun Holmes this year. I’ve been saying it since last year – Holmes is going to be a really good player in this league. He’s the prototypical athletic, long big who excels with his pure grit. Holmes needs to be developed; playing behind Joel Embiid won’t help that.
  • This is the main reason keeping Patterson is still the true sixth man in OKC:
  • Paul George’s inability to make shots in the final three minutes is still a thing in Oklahoma City. After tweeting a severe hyperbole during the game I decided to look into it. George is shooting 25% from the field and 14.3% from 3 when the score is within 5 points this season. In a perfect world George would be the Thunder’s go-to option in close games, but he’s making it hard on himself for Billy Donovan to trust him. Speaking of Billy D…

    • More from Thunderous Intentions

    Why Donovan didn’t utter the words “give Carmelo the ball in isolation” – a phrase he’s assuredly said hundreds of times this season – in the final five minutes of regular time is beyond me. Moments like that are understandably the reason Donovan does not have many fans right now.

    The Thunder hit 42.9% of their 35 attempts from deep because they were taking good, uncontested shots. The overall ball movement was crisp because Russ was actively moving the ball up until the fourth quarter, hence why they recorded 25 of their 28 assists in the first 43 minutes of the game. The lesson here as it’s been all season: Russ has full control over how this team plays.

    Oklahoma City would be nowhere without their defense. If we’re going to blame Donovan for the offense we better praise him for the defense too.

    Expect a heavy dose of the second unit in New York. And Carmelo. A whole lotta Melo.

    The Thunder have to forget about this win rather quickly as Enes Kanter and the New York Knicks are patiently waiting for a Saturday night showdown. Tip-off is set for 6:30 CT. As always Thunderous Intentions will have you covered with everything you need to know prior to Oklahoma City’s first opportunity at a winning record since November 3rd.

    Home/Thunder News