OKC Thunder come back vs. Warriors to capture first road win of season – player grades

It was a bit of a mixed bag from Terrance Ferguson tonight.  On one hand, he seemed much more active than typical on offense taking seven shots although his perimeter shot was off the mark he still managed to collect seven points.

As for his defense, that was where he earned his grade. Coming into this match Alec Burks was on fire through his last three games:

• Grizzlies: 29 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block
• Mavericks: 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal
• Jazz: 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four steals

TFerg held Burks in check all night limiting him to seven points on 3 of 17 shooting!

The offensive charge Danilo Gallinari took with just under two minutes remaining was a pivotal play. Throughout the match, the Warriors commentators couldn’t stop gushing about Gallo. The fact he can’t be sped up on offense and is a much more savvy defender than most realize and it’s why he’ll draw plenty of interest as the calendar flips to December and the trade deadline draws closer.

Gallinari did what he typically does – he scores efficiently (15 points) helps on the glass (seven rebounds), does things you don’t expect (six assists and a steal) and every game tends to pull out one defensive play which makes you stop and ask – is Gallo a better defender than he’s given credit for?

Look no further than the double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) the Big Kiwi delivered as signs his knee might be feeling a bit better. He took some hard falls but it was the first time this season I noticed his movement was closer to what we’d expect and he had bounce around the glass.

It’s been two full years since Steven Adams has looked like the player who beasted nightly and had opponents cowering in corners regardless if they were guards or big men. The hope is he simply has been dealing with a barrage of injuries because Adams is a critical piece of this team so if it’s not injuries which have kept him from ascending then we have something to worry about.

On this night – he looked like a player who has turned a corner and put in back to back better efforts than we’ve witnessed in a while.

For what it’s worth — Willie Cauley-Stein told his media group his intentions were to outplay Adams and make sure he didn’t get any boards. Hmmm – maybe WCS should stick to playing instead of talking since that prediction sure didn’t work in his favor.