Which youngsters made biggest impression?
Heading into the first scrimmage T.I. outlined six players Billy Donovan would be keeping an eye on. SGA was among them but the other five were primarily the youngsters as well as Andre Roberson.
The big benefit is obviously Andre Roberson’s return and the fact he looks great. T.I. addressed how much more versatile the Thunder becomes with his return so I won’t reiterate it here. As for his stat line, he scored five points including a 3-pointer, grabbed two rebounds along with one steal, and a block in just under 12 minutes playing time.
The wing has always been a point of contention on this team with Luguentz Dort, Terrance Ferguson, Abdel Nader, and Hamidou Diallo vying for minutes.
Nader was playing okay prior to getting hurt putting up 11 points, two rebounds, and a block. His minutes were solid although he was a bit frantic on the court.
I was not impressed by the brief time Ferguson played where his production resulted in one rebound and one turnover in 7:18 of playing time. On one play Roberson was able to slow down Carsen Edwards, but even with that help, Ferguson was unable to contest the shot flailing away at the much smaller player. The hope was he would be more aggressive offensively but just like pre-suspension, he is content to take one or two shots per game. Perhaps we’ll see something different Sunday, but this was not an encouraging start.
Diallo scored two points and although he started poorly on the defensive end he settled in adding two rebounds, two steals, and was a plus seven.
While no one was connecting at an efficient level from deep other than Mr. Reliable Danilo Gallinari at least some players were taking the shots which is half the battle.
Unlike Ferguson, Lu Dort is not afraid to let it rip and while he only hit one of his four attempts at least he’s taking them. Donovan said Dort got bigger during the hiatus and he did. On one play he hit the Celtic player driving to garner a trip to the line. The funniest part was the opponent went flying backward while Dort didn’t even flinch.
Overall, Dort looked great scoring nine points, adding four rebounds and three assists, and was a team-high plus 13. It’s no wonder he’s moved ahead of Ferguson in the pecking order given his two-way ability and aggressiveness offensively. On the latter point, he got to the line for four free throws.
The return of Roberson adds to the equation although Donovan seems content playing ARob also at the four which resolves that issue.
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The last player I’ll note is far from the last who made an impression. Darius Bazley stood out to me immediately. His body looks stronger with noticeable size on his upper body and arms. If you saw the scrimmage last night take a look at the image above and then tell me he didn’t add at least 10-15 pounds of muscle. His hiatus like SGA’s was clearly spent working on his game and his body.
Anyone questioning the long term value of Bazley got a good dose of what to expect in the future. With the core resting in the second half, he was even bringing the ball up the court. On the day he registered an impressive line filling up multiple boxes with nine points, one 3-pointer, seven rebounds (one offensive) an assist, a steal, and a block with two free throws in just under 20 minutes playing time.
Bazley will continue to flourish with additional minutes and I can’t help thinking the presence of Andre Roberson will help him improve defensively as well. I’m already eager for Donovan to try out a super big lineup with Roberson, Bazley, and Noel in the frontcourt.
It’s only one scrimmage with ample time for improvements and growth and too soon to make a definitive statement. That said, Dort and Bazley were the standouts from the youngsters and take the edge over their counterparts in the early going.
Next up the OKC Thunder play the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:00 am CT.