OKC Thunder in the news: team stays hot, Russ progress, Ayton admires Adams
By Reid Belew
OKC Thunder sport second best NBA defense catapulting them into a second place tie with Blazers in the West. Russ is progressing and Ayton admires Adams.
Good morning to all. The OKC Thunder are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, winning 10 of their last 11. Currently, the OKC Thunder sport the second best defense in the league, and it’s catapulted them into a tie with Portland for second in the West.
Feels good, doesn’t it? Remember how scared we all were when the season started? We’re now beating teams handily without Russell Westbrook. That should either worry you or excite you. Let’s stay positive – winning is winning. That’s what matters. The OKC Thunder are in a good spot.
But speaking of the Brodie:
Russ Practices
Russ, the poor guy rolled his ankle a while back and has missed some time. Ankle rolls are pesky. Some are fine the next day, and some just linger for weeks.
OKC Thunder fans should be encouraged by news coming from Thunder staff.
Russell Westbrook participated in practice today, Billy Donovan says, including part of the contact portions. Nothing definitive on his status for Phoenix tomorrow.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) November 16, 2018
Brett Dawson of the Athletic tweeted that Russ took part in the Thunder’s Friday practice. This is great news. The Thunder are hot as the sun, and they’re about to gain an MVP to their team?
*drool*
Thunder beat Suns
In case you fell asleep, the Thunder took it to the Phoenix Suns. This was, in my opinion, the Thunder at their very best. Without Westbrook, the team has been forced to spread the ball out and be creative with getting everyone involved.
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PG has taken the role of go-to guy. Against the Suns, he had 32 points and 11 rebounds. Schröder, the man responsible for running the offense, had 15 points and 7 assists. Critical role players stepped up as well. Jerami Grant got the start for the Thunder and rattled off 14 points with some stellar defensive work. Even Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot got in on the action with 12 points.
The highlight of this game, however, was Steven Adams. Do you remember when Paul George talked about how Adams can be a 20-10 guy?
With three essential players out and a favorable matchup, the Thunder fed Adams from the start of the game. Adams went to town on rookie Deandre Ayton to the tune of 26 points and 10 rebounds.
This last detail is of special note, as DeAndre Ayton took something away.
Related:
Deandre Talks About the Game
Phoenix Suns rookie Deandre Ayton took his spanking from Adams as best as possible.
Ayton talked to Suns reporter Ashley Nevel saying that if he can play against Steven Adams, he can play against anyone in the league.
He’s probably right.