Player Grades: OKC Thunder failure to play to defensive identity results in loss to Bulls

Another triple-double performance of 24 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists showcases Russell Westbrook‘s effort. The problem was his shot selection and passes were not up to his usual standard. If you just glance at the box score it seems like a stellar performance of 13 assists and even his field goal percent (9 of 21) for 42 percent seems on par with a better outing.

The reality is he had a poor performance with wild passes and turned the ball over 10 times (yeah, unfortunately you read that corrrectly – 10 turnovers). It’s also a mixed bag for Westbrook in terms of plays as it was his three pointer that tied the game late, and it was his drive and layin which pulled the Thunder to 112 all. But it was also his man Justin Holiday who was left wide open to nail a three on the opposite end of the floor and his copious ill-timed passes which gave the Bulls life in the first place.

I’m definitely one of the Russ advocates so it pains me when he has a game like this and as the alpha he has to bear the brunt of the loss on his shoulders.

It was a game where I have hard time remembering Terrance Ferguson  being a factor in any way other than watching his assignments scoring at will in the first half.  The loss is not on TFerg as he’s not the key offensive weapon, nor is he the guy we should expect to be leading the defense, so in essence he gets a bit of a pass on this one.

A game after Paul George notched 47 points with 25 in the fourth quarter plus a game winner perhaps he was feeling his oats. But, he regressed to the men on the final shot missing a wide open look. He shot 37 percent on 6 of 16 from the field and was icy cold from deep (2 of 9).

Like Westbrook a portion of the blame has to rest on George’s shoulders who for all intents and purposes is the captain of the defense. Like Russ he also delivered some key moments such as the steal made at game end and pass to Shroder to allow the affair to enter overtime in the first place.

That said, it’s up to PG13 and Russ to pull the team aside (early) and demand they lock down defensively. Again, the box score is misleading given his four steals because his defensive assignments also got rolling in the first half and couldn’t be assuaged once they were.

Like Ferguson it seems unfair to put this loss on anyone who isn’t a team leader. Jerami Grant‘s 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting are within his normal output. Definitely would like to see more than 3 rebounds from the youngster and a better overall defensive effort. But, he was the only OKC player who shot well from the perimeter (3 of 4) and did enough to register a passing grade.

I was going to limit everyone to a grade of C or worse given this was a team loss, but I couldn’t find the footage to marry with that thought when it came to the Big Kiwi. A double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds on most nights would equate to a blow out win by OKC, Moreover, it was Steven Adam’s NINE offensive rebounds which afforded the Thunder second chance scoring opportunities. He also snagged two steals and a block.