OKC Thunder player grades: No Westbrook, no problem – OKC win sixth straight

OKC Thunder Best Reserve:

Hamidou Diallo continues to bring energy and offer an effective alternative to Ferguson. Diallo finished with a stat line of eight points, three rebounds, and a steal in 13-minutes.

Diallo was impressive continuing to look comfortable and displaying confidence. His two-way game is an asset as the rookie Kentucky guard made great plays on both ends of the floor.

Several times his perimeter shot hit the heel of the rim and just missed falling in. Moving forward it feels like eventually (with practice) those shots will fall.

Best Opponent:

The rookie guard from Alabama is getting a lot more run under interim coach Larry Drew.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Sexton made some rookie mistakes, most notably committing four fouls before the ten-minute mark in the third. Offensively, Sexton balled posting a team-high 15-points on 50 percent shooting although more than one assist would be useful.

Coming into the draft Sexton was noted as a defensive specialist which pops when you see him in action. Although the Cavaliers are surely headed to be among those vying for the first overall draft pick, Sexton will gain valuable experience this season to use well into the future.

Final Thoughts

Outside of things getting hairy in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the OKC Thunder were able to keep the lowly Cavaliers at arm’s length throughout this Wednesday night tilt. Sure, Thunder fans would’ve loved a Wizards-like blow out win, but without Russ, I’m sure everyone will take this win to keep the winning streak alive.

The team will get no rest, flying back to OKC tonight to prepare for the second leg of the back-to-back when they host the Rockets tomorrow night on TNT at 7 pm central standard time.

For the full box score visit ESPN. Check back later for the Topic: Thunder game roundup and tomorrow for the key takeaways from the win.