Grades: Thunder collapse allows Boston to steal a win

OKC Thunder Starter Grades

Russ’ defense has gotten a lot of attention this season – tonight might have been his worst performance yet. At times the reigning MVP made no attempt at defending his man or communicating with his teammates on switches, resulting in a plethora of open looks for the Celtics. That low effort can’t happen, especially when it’s coming from the player who guards the most important/most talented position in the NBA.

Props to Russ for playing a solid offensive game: 27 points on 9-21 shooting and 7 assists. But when the defense is as bad as it was, that simply can’t be the story of his game.

Tonight was Corey Brewer’s first poor performance with the Thunder. Brewer struggled from deep, hitting 1-6 attempts even though he was fairly open, while also struggling on the defensive end as well. Brewer got caught in a few failed help-side rotations that resulted in easy Boston buckets. He also struggled to defend the Celtics’ perimeter players in isolation. It all culminated with the 32-year old as the only OKC starter with a negative +/- tonight.

Word of advice Thunder Nation: Don’t let this one game deter you from the impact he’s had since signing.

Paul George is officially the most polarizing player on this team. Some will point to his 24 points and 13 rebounds as an indictment of his strong effort tonight. While George had moments of brilliance throughout the night, his disappearance in the fourth quarter is cause for concern. George only took two field goal attempts in the fourth. He failed to close out on Marcus Morris properly, resulting in the aforementioned game-winning shot. Like I’ve said all season, I hold George to higher standards because I know how talented he is. Why PG fluctuates from game-to-game (even quarter-to-quarter) is simply beyond me.

Poor Carmelo is taking on the role of scapegoat for those two missed free throws at the end of the game. In reality (besides his first four shot attempts that were nowhere close) Melo played a good game though. The 10-time All-Star is falling into place as more of a catch-and-shoot player instead of an isolation threat, something that bodes well for this team. He did a good job of moving the ball when double-teamed and even played solid defense for his standards.

But because of those two missed free throws that’s all you’re going to hear about Carmelo’s play tonight.

We can always count on Steven Adams to play his heart out. A common storyline form the season played out again tonight: the Thunder sought him out on the offensive end in the first quarter then proceeded to rarely feed him again. 3 of his 7 shots came in the first 12 minutes; so did 8 of his 14 points. Oklahoma City won’t unlock their true potential until Adams is consistently utilized on that end of the floor. The problem is they only have nine more games to press that point home.