OKC Thunder blast Wolves via spectacular individual efforts – grades
A. . G/F. Oklahoma City Thunder. TERRANCE FERGUSON
Great bounce back effort from Terrance Ferguson in this match. After what I would call his worst performance of the season he delivered a quality response.
Not only did he do a great job of shutting down the Thunder nemesis Andrew Wiggins he also was active on the offensive end. Wiggins started the game 3 of 4 from the field and finished shooting 4 of 12. TFerg was the primary defender on him.
Offensively, Ferg chipped in 14 points (his 19 points against the 76ers being the only higher output this season). He also added three rebounds and an assist.
Oklahoma City Thunder. DANILO GALLINARI. A+. . PF
My continuing chant to Sam Presti applies here “can’t you find a way to keep Danilo Gallinari?” Seriously, find me another power forward who isn’t a perennial All-Star who does what Gallo does for his team and delivers it with consistency and doesn’t cost over $25 million a season or demand they get the primary shooting opportunities. In fact, I think we’ll have to do a deeper dive into this in a separate article.
Gallo was pivotal to the Thunder staying close early and got to the line repeatedly dissecting the Wolves bigs who couldn’t seem to figure out if was going to pull up and shoot or drive (high I.Q. our Gallo). He made the Wolves pay for their indecision and already had eight free throws by the half.
His perimeter shot was cutting through the net like a hot knife through butter. His shot is a pleasure to watch it’s so pure.
On the night he tallied 30 points and check out his efficiency:
- 8 of 12 from the field
- 3 of 4 from the perimeter
- 11 of 12 from the free throw line
The missed 3-pointer was an end of shot clock forced effort but aside from that shot, not one shot was made without being the best shot on the floor at the moment he took it.
Gallo also had four rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
I’ve always liked his game but getting to witness him on an every game basis has afforded us the opportunity to discover just how underrated a talent he is.
Bravo Gallo – a great performance that won’t get the accolades due to Shai’s break out career making night but your performance was equally impressive and as necessary in capturing the victory.
STEVEN ADAMS. A. . C. Oklahoma City Thunder
Steven Adams got beat up a bit tonight as Gorgui Dieng tried to play him physically even hitting him where the sun doesn’t shine at one point.
He landed on the floor a couple of times which was annoying because he wasn’t getting the calls for those infractions but was quickly whistled for some ticky-tack (and overdramatized flops) against him. Hey, it’s actually a nod to his excellence and his reputation that the Wolves felt that was necessary.
Adams also delivered with a double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three blocks.
The only blip on his night was the defense of Naz Ried. In fairness, he wasn’t in the game when the youngster started his consecutive scoring streak and there isn’t as much known about Reid given he’s the backup to both Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng.