OKC Thunder – Sacramento steals another one, Topic: Thunder roundup
The OKC Thunder dropped yet another one to the Kings, but there were extenuating circumstances. But it still hurts.
The OKC Thunder have excuses.
Alex Abrines did not play, and although he’s listed as DNP-CD, reports are that it was the same illness that kept him out previously. Nerlens Noel, also, was ill. Hopefully this isn’t something that will sweep through the rest of the team. Terrance Ferguson was still out for personal reasons.
And, finally, Russell Westbrook was back for his first game from an ankle injury and having twins (congrats Russ and Nina!), and had something of a weird game. His stat-line actually wound up looking impressive, but his defense was lackluster, and that’s putting it kindly.
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Look, you can’t do much cardio when your ankle is injured. I think we can give him a pass tonight. (Maybe Billy should take some blame for not putting a minutes restriction on him, but with the way Schröder played, it may not have helped.
Speaking of Dennis Schröder, Dennis Schröder managed only six points on 17 shots. That’s really, really bad. Paul George shot 4-14 from three-point range. Patrick Patterson shot 0-5. Raymond Felton played.
I think that’s everything, but that’s a lot, right? The Thunder lost by four. This is the NBA. Sometimes bad teams beat good teams, under the best of circumstances. These were not the best of circumstances, and as of right now, the Kings don’t even look like a bad team.
It’s a luxury of having won 11 or your last 12 that you can drop a game like this and just shrug and say “on to the next one,” but that’s basically the feeling after this one. The Kings were hungry and shot the lights out. The Thunder were missing three rotation players, and the lights stayed on when they shot.
Still, it does hurt a little. Losing always does.
Dylan Huntzinger is on recap for Topic: Thunder.
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