OKC Thunder rebound vs shorthanded Blazers – player grades

Best OKC Reserve:

With Adams limited in terms of the minutes the team would want him to play Nerlens Noel proved to be a solid answer. He was active on both sides of the hardwood posting 15 points on a highly efficient six of seven from the field. In addition, he grabbed five rebounds and filled up the stat sheet with two assists, two steals, and two blocks.

He picked up a technical in the third quarter which might be more a function of how dialed into the game he was.

One thing to note is Noel doesn’t always get a ton of minutes (19 in this one) but he serves a solid purpose and role on this team. Overall a solid effort from the big man in support of his team.

Best Opponent:

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Nursing an upper respiratory illness Damian Lillard stepped up to lead his Blazers despite the loss. While Chris Paul got the Thunder off to a lead via 21 first half points, Lillard attempted to do the same given McCollum was out, scoring 24 of his eventual 34 on the night.

Dame connected on five 3-pointers and got to the line 12 times (scoring nine) and dished out six assists and a steal. His four turnovers were likely more a product of the point guard trying to do too much and ailing while doing it.

The OKC Thunder are back in action on Monday as they hit the road to face the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic on Wednesday. The Rockets have lost three games in a row and have fallen to sixth place by virtue of the loss to the Lakers Saturday which puts them just in front of OKC.

Houston has two additional wins and four fewer losses than the Thunder. Given this dynamic the game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day will provide ample reason for both squads to want the ‘W’.

For a full box score of tonight’s game and how each player fared click this link courtesy of ESPN.