OKC Thunder Report Card as team enters stretch
A+. . C. Oklahoma City Thunder. STEVEN ADAMS
Big Kiwi resurgent season:
Steven Adams is back to being the dominant force upfront that Thunder Nation witnessed during his best seasons. The Big Kiwi is stymieing opposing centers, delivering clean body jarring screens, affecting help defense in ways most teams drool over and cleaning the glass at an elite level.
In an era that is witnessing teams moving away from big men the one player who is constantly cited as one most team in the Association would gladly add is Adams.
This season the most impressive feature of note is that Adams’ ball-handling and playmaking have ascended to a new level. Whether it’s the long bomb NFL pass, elbow passes or the quick, precise paint dimes in traffic his improvement is obvious. Notably, the T.I. writing team has often opined this is an underused skill and of Adams and now that it’s taken another jump – don’t expect us to jump off this tangent.
Related Story. The trademark moves of Steven Adams. light
The lone issue for the New Zealander this season was injury woes that caused the big man to miss some games or play at less than 100 percent. The flagrant foul by Clint Capela stands out as one that was so unnecessary we’ll be anxious to witness the next time Atlanta and OKC play!
Through 55 games Adams appeared in 49, playing in some matches where he was still clearly dealing with an injury.
Adams is averaging 10.7 points, 9.3 rebounds (3.3 offensive boards), 2.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks. That said — it’s all those other things he does that don’t show up on a box score which garners his grade.