OKC Thunder late charge not enough to grab victory over Memphis Grizzlies

The OKC Thunder lost their final preseason game to the Memphis Grizzlies despite a late charge by several players vying to earn a spot on the varsity team.

In the final match of the preseason, the OKC Thunder elected to rest several players while the Memphis Grizzlies sat their two exciting rookies Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke.

Chris Paul was rested, Hamidou Diallo sat with the flu, Andre Roberson was AWOL once again and Terrance Ferguson who suffered a car accident courtesy of a rear-end also didn’t suit up for this match.

Steven Adams suffered a bit of a scare early but it proved to be nothing (thankfully) but the Thunder weren’t able to mount a winning effort. That said, there were positive takeaways as several players who are vying to claim a spot on the roster mounted a comeback which almost erased the deficit.

In their last game, the OKC Thunder shot abysmally from the perimeter (14.7 percent) and the charity stripe (56.3 percent). There was a decisive improvement in this outing with the team shooting 40.5 percent from the perimeter (15 of 37 ) and 81.5 percent from the free throw line (22 of 27).

Memphis was led by Canadian Dillon Brooks who scored 30 points including five 3-point shots. Jaren Jackson Jr. was also pivotal serving up a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Overall, it was a much better effort than the loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. Still, there are clear areas the team needs to work on. There is still a propensity to fall into old habits of standing still and ball watching. This is something that will correct itself with concerted effort and repetition. Yet, with the schedule, the Thunder begins the season with it’s paramount the club resolve this particular issue immediately.

Dissecting the issue comes down to focus, communicating and in fairness when Chris Paul returns to the lineup the ball will move more. With the team practicing with CP3 when he’s not in the lineup it can be enough of a switch to rattle the team into a situation where old habits return.

Although the Thunder held a 15 point lead they took their foot off the gas and allowed the Grizzlies back into the game. Despite holding a seven-point halftime lead the Grizzlies came out of the half thumping OKC via a 46-28 point effort to take an 11 point lead into the final frame.

In a valiant effort, several of the reserves mounted a furious effort almost completing the comeback but inevitably fell five points shy.

As per usual Deonte Burton was among the comeback crew once again reminding Billy Donovan of why his minutes need to be increased this season. Burton posted a typical full stat line featuring 6 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist. Last year Burton was often on the floor when double-digit deficits were erased so this is nothing new for Thunder fans.

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

That said, there were some players who surprised like Devon Hall. Entering training camp the overriding belief was Hall wasn’t ready to join the varsity club, however, he’s been one of the most consistent and positive storylines of the preseason.

Hall led the team with 19 points with an impressive shooting line: 6 of 9 from the field, 3 of 6 from the perimeter and 4 of 4 from the line.

The key group who contributed to the comeback included Burton, Hall, Darius Bazley, Justin Patton, Mike Muscala (who had his best preseason outing), and Luguentz  Dort.

Other than Hall and Burton the trio of Bazley, Patton, and Dort were equally impressive both individually as well as in this lineup. With Dort expected to spend half his games with the OKC Blue, his focus should be on extending his range because he’s shown great qualities in camp and in preseason games.

Bazley continues to impress by not trying to do more than is asked but his 7 points, 9 rebounds, six assists and steal offer additional reasons why this rookie needs to get as much time on the court as Billy Donovan can muster for the rookie. In particular, two plays stood out: a spin move in the first quarter for an easy score and after missing in the paint he stuck with the play, got the steal and had the presence of mind to pass the ball to SGA instead of trying to force the steal (:56-: 51 of 2Q).

The other standout was Justin Patton who also continues to mount a case to get more playing time. Patton only played nine minutes but made great use of his time on the court registering 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. His defensive presence at the rim is a real thing and given his ability to stretch the court if he develops any consistency with that shot he could earn himself a position in the future core.

The OKC Thunder finishes the preseason splitting their four games (2-2) and will now spend more time on the practice court ironing out the kinks. Billy Donovan has six days to get his team prepared for the season opener in Utah on October 23rd. The full ESPN box score can be viewed via this link.

Stick with Thunderous Intentions as our writing team continues to roll out articles in preparation for the 2019-20 season.