OKC Thunder mop up sloppy first half in Phoenix: Player Grades

Player Grades

OKC Starting Rotation:

The Brodie almost didn’t get the extra plus on top of the A Grade from me because of the five turnovers. However, Russell Westbrook did everything in this game including mop the floor.

His final stat line of 43 points, 14 rebounds (7 offensive boards!!), 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block were almost solely responsible for the victory. On some evenings there is room to criticize Westbrook for making poor choices, but in this contest it felt like one point less from him would have resulted in a loss.

This wasn’t simply a vintage MVP type performance because Westbrook tried to move the ball and get his cohorts involved. When your partners in crime aren’t connecting on wide open shots you can’t blame the messenger (or in this case the distributor).

Even his shot selection was top notch as he only attempted four shots from the perimeter (including the one which took the air out of the building) connecting on two (or 50 percent). He shot 16 of 25 from the field for 64 percent efficiency.

Those rebounds were equally as enticing, though the mopping of the floor will probably make the rounds of memes.

One dunk was so spectacular at game end it seemed like he had jet packs on his shoes. The Suns announcers were in awe citing the fact Westbrook was delivering a jaw dropping dunk in his 40th minute on the court. As fans of the Thunder we may not like the game required this herculean effort from their super star. Yet, the fact he delivered it to perfection reminds us all of how special a talent Westbrook is.

When a future super star is as hot as Devin Booker was – you know you’re in for a tough, long night.  That said, George got torched by Booker and embarrassed. Not to mention, Josh Jackson pulled a spin move on Paul George which was also of the salty variety.

Look, this isn’t all on George, but without Andre Roberson the area of the game George can put his stamp on is OKC’s defense.  And, that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to play to the same level as Andre Roberson. Rather, he needs to be the guy leading, ensuring everyone talks, switches and that he leads by example.

Granted the Suns always seem to channel their inner title team when they play OKC. But, In the first half of this game George was equally responsible (if not the guy who could have changed the team’s focus). Again, perhaps it’s not fair to put all that on George’s shoulders.  But, he’s going to want a max pay day this summer, so all I’m suggesting is he take over this role on the squad to captain the team’s defensive energy.

Perhaps this is more a result of my disillusionment with Billy Donovan’s rotations and PG13 is catching my angst.

Off night on both sides of hardwood:

Offensively, it wasn’t a banner night for the wing man either. Too often George looked to the officials to bail him out of questionable shots or missed baskets. He’s been in the league long enough to understand the temperature of the officials. Therefore, either keep driving or move the ball to the open man.

It’s not all bad news, he did manage to score 20 points, snare 5 rebounds, dish 5 assists, while adding 2 steals and 2 blocks. The problem was he shot 37.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep.

Again, it felt like he forced his shot on several of those attempts. It’s a minor tweak required offensively. And, to put this in context, I fully expect to see the full PG 13 beast mode come April, I just want him to captain the defense and take a bit more ownership.

Early on Carmelo Anthony was connecting on his shot shooting 5 for 12. Approximately mid-way through the third quarter he began to look sluggish on the court. From this point forward Anthony shot 1 for 6. Another oddity was at one point he looked physically like he was channeling Zach Randolph and NOT in a good way. There was frankly no lift in his jumper which resulted in easy blocks by the Suns defending him.

Also in the third quarter, repeatedly as the Thunder inched toward leveling the game a bad defensive play by Anthony either led to easy buckets or free throws (and this on a night when the officials seemingly had put their whistles away).

Shooting 33.3 percent from the field on either wide open shots or under bucket gimmes isn’t going to cut it. And, it begs the question if Billy D has to have a long hard talk with Anthony about cutting back on his minutes to allow someone with more zip in their step, better defensive ability or combination of both to take some of his time for the betterment of the team.

Anthony finished the night with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Westbrook – Adams pick and roll is about as close to perfection as it gets. The only problem is the team needs to run it more often. Perhaps Russ and Steven need to be a little selfish and instead of trying to get their teammates rolling just keep running it until teams stop it. In fairness, Coach Jay Triano did pay the Westbrook-Adams PNR respect as Adams spent a good portion of the game getting double teamed.  So, when you boast a trio of Russ, PG 13 and Melo, but Adams is the guy you choose to double-team it speaks to the respect  he garners.

Pull up any segment of the game and it’s impossible to go longer than a minute without a play where four Suns are surrounding Adams in the paint.

This was partially why his offensive rebounds were less than normal. In spite of this he was able to deflect several out to teammates with Westbrook being the recipient on several occasion.

Final Stat line: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks and was 5 of 8 from the field.

Josh Huestis was equally at fault for the early defensive lapse of team. Still if he delivered a steady diet of nine rebounds with two blocks and (yes measley) three points we’d probably admit that’s more than ample.

The issue with Huestis is his one on one defense is still lacking. It’s not like anyone can expect him to replace Andre Roberson. Nor is it probably fair to expect him to do more when Anthony isn’t offering much defensively and George is having an off night on that side of the hardwood.

It just feels like Huestis would be a perfect bench role player or perhaps better suited for a different system than the one he’s in. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but either Billy Donovan has to clarify his role and drill  how important his defense is or insert someone (hint: check out Lawrence George’s piece tomorrow which highlight a player I agree should be starting) who can handle that responsibility.

Notably, Huestis was the only starter who finished in with a negative (-3) plus/minus differential.