Player Grades: OKC Thunder try their hardest, but fail to lose to the Magic

Every OKC Thunder win counts in the W column, but not in our hearts.

The OKC Thunder squeaked by the Mickey Mouse Magic tonight. There was unnecessary drama, but OKC came away with the necessary result, thanks largely to the bench and the Magic’s desire for a superior draft pick. Get it together, Thunder.

This game had all the feel of a must-win before it started. Over the last 48 hours, the OKC Thunder had won a game and lost a game.

OKC had also gone from the 5th seed in the embattled Western Conference playoff standings to 7th, and then to 8th, and then back up to 7th again within the same timeframe.

OKC have a rare favorable stretch, which began with this matchup with the ever-tanking Orlando Magic. Clearly, the Thunder needed to take advantage.

Someone forgot to tell Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony, though, because they started this game as if they were not aware. Russ and the Thunder, as they tend to do, went to Steven Adams early and often (10 points in the first quarter), but barely managed to keep the Thunder within reach of the Magic. Outside of the very first possession, the offense was stagnant early, relying mostly on straight-line pick-and-rolls and isolated post ups.

Perimeter Defensive Issues:

Despite the stagnation, the offense was not the problem in the first quarter. Orlando came out dazzling in this one, hitting six of their first seven treys. Nikola Vučević was a perfect 3 for 3 and he gave the OKC Thunder fits in the first half.

The OKC Thunder have allowed 40.2 percent on three-pointers since Roberson’s injury, per nba.com, the second-worst rate in the league over that span. Over the entire season it would rank OKC as the  worst perimeter defender. In case you were wondering, that number did not improve today.

The Magic did cool off drastically for the remainder of the game, but they still ended up with a three point efficiency of 41.4 percent. Thanks to Steven Adams (who finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds), OKC owned the paint in the first, but trailed by seven. It could have been worse, as the Magic hit a scorching 70 percent from the field in the period.

The Magic came back to reality a bit in the second quarter, helped by Alex Abrines (13 points on 5-7 shooting, 4 assists, and the below block of not-so-Super Mario) and the rest of the Thunder bench.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/968303191858319360

Abrines offers reserve help:

Abrines had a nifty dunk in this sequence, as well, which came on the Thunder’s pet play wherein the defense forgets about the corner shooter, who then cuts for the lob. The odd thing is, that’s usually Roberson (RIP) out there, and this was for Abrines. That should tell you the level of respect he gets around the league. Get this man more minutes. He deserves more respect.

The Thunder went on a 8-0 run to get back in the game, and then Paul George (26 points, 8 rebounds) woke up, showing off some nice handles and a few great drives. Carmelo Anthony (9 points on 15 shots, 9 rebounds) tried to follow his lead, taking the offense into his own, isolating hands for several possessions leading into halt-time. Just in case that sounds like a good thing: it is not.

However, OKC managed to hold the Magic to 24 points in the second, and went into halftime trailing just 61-62.