Five takeaways from the Thunder’s first win of the 2018 Playoffs
By Tony Heim
5. Oklahoma City’s bench is finally coming together
Here lies the biggest key to a deep Playoff run. Last season the Thunder second-unit struggled mightily when Russell Westbrook and the starters left the court. Last night though? Not so much.
OKC’s bench posted a combined +44 in 57 minutes on Sunday, including +14 and +12 from Alex Abrines and Jerami Grant respectively. While we knew Grant was going to be an x-factor in these Playoffs, we were unsure about how Abrines would perform in his second Playoffs. Last night tells us he might* finally be ready for big minutes.
*While Abrines has played significantly better recently, it’s important to note that the Jazz’s second-unit isn’t necessarily a murderer’s row. Jae Crowder Royce O’Neal and Dante Exum were the three players to receive important minutes – Crowder was the only one to have a solid performance.
With that caveat in mind, we should still be ecstatic by the second-unit performance. Oklahoma City won’t need them to destroy their opposition like they did last night, but it will be crucial that they at least maintain a lead while the starters are out.
If they can do that then OKC has a chance to truly make noise past this series.