Shorthanded OKC Thunder top Suns – Player grades

Player Grades

Dennis Schroder has played exceptional this year, and I personally can not wait to see more of him and Russell Westbrook both healthy and Schroder commanding the second unit. Schroder though proved once again he is a starting caliber player tonight, pouring in 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting to go along with five rebounds and seven assists. Schroder also collected four steals, but did turn the ball over five times.

At the start of the year, it would have been every OKC Thunder fans dream to have Hamidou Diallo get the starting nod. Tonight, that dream came to be. Diallo played 19 minutes and earned just one point throughout the contest. Diallo went 0-for-1 from the field and split the difference on his two free throw attempts.

Diallo also grabbed four rebounds and was a plus-seven during the game. This was a small bump in what has been a promising, and fun rookie campaign so far for the second round pick out of Kentucky. Tonight, Diallo just did not have it.

Paul George showed up big time tonight on both ends of the court. He made up for the Thunder lacking their superstar, something he struggled to do earlier in the year when Westbrook missed action.

George was incredible defensively earning three blocks and three steals while collecting just two personal fouls. His matchup, Devin Booker, posted 18 points on 17 shots.

Offensively, PG was active and aggressive. He made each of his 11 free throws count (11-11) on his way to amassing 32 points while shooting 40 percent from the field. PG also hauled in 11 rebounds on the night with the lone dark spot being his five turnovers.

With the OKC Thunder struggling out of the gate a pivotal turning point came with Jerami Grant‘s insertion into the starting rotation versus the Boston Celtics. Neither OKC or Grant have looked back since then.

Tonight was no different as Grant scored 14 points on 57 percent shooting making one of two three-pointers while turning in a 71 percent effort from the line. Grant also swatted a pair of shots in his stellar performance against the Suns.

For most of this season questions centered on whether Steven Adams was playing injured. Tonight Adams put those thoughts to rest as he dominated the Suns first overall pick.

Steven Adams posted 26 points in 36 minutes. Adams went 11-for-15 from the floor and even posted a great 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. And, of course, he dominated the glass. Adams grabbed ten boards and divided them evenly, five coming on offense and the other five defensively.

Another great night, and I am sure a fun night for him as he frustrated Deandre Ayton all night.