OKC Thunder fall to 1-4, player grades reveal why Blazers prevailed

A game removed from Terrance Ferguson seeming to find his mojo on both sides of the court his offense disappeared. It was hoped he could extend the effort for the next match and start demonstrating consistency. Unfortunately, TFerg wasn’t particularly successful on either side of the floor tonight.

He scored a measly two points and possessed the worst plus/minus (-13) of the starting five. His grade would be worse but his three rebounds, steal, and block were bonuses. Plus the fact he was part of the defensive contingent who held McCollum and Lillard to a combined 14 of 41 from the field.

This wasn’t a typical night for Danilo Gallinari who up until tonight was (other than SGA) the most consistent offensive contributor. Gallo managed to produce 15 points, six rebounds, and an assist but did so on an inefficient 5 of 15 field goals.

More concerning was the iso-ball he fell into at times and segments of the game where he had a lack of defensive focus.  It’s conceivable having to play with a different frontcourt partner threw him off, but at a minimum, he needs to keep moving the ball to help the offense.

That said, Gallinari has been stellar to this point, so there’s no shade meant by the grade.

If you’ve caught TI’s previous takeaways and commentary regarding Donovan you’ll know it’s a bit of a constant gripe from yours truly the coach should be utilizing Noel more.

Tonight because Steven Adams was out he got an opportunity to showcase his full abilities and the results were impressive.

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1189712788303876101

Noel registered a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds plus two assists, a steal, and a block. And, he held his own against the larger Hassan Whiteside.

There were some small glitches as the starting unit was thrown into a new mix of five but overall it was an impressive showing from Noel. (more on this tomorrow morning in the takeaways).