OKC Thunder: Nuggets control pace, stealing OT match – grades
Frontcourt Grades:
Okay, full disclosure Luguentz Dort did NOT have a big offensive game so those who balk at the grade – bear with me.
We’re talking about a player who isn’t on the floor for his offensive skill set yet he’s still aggressive trying to offer more than his predecessor. I’m not sure he should be taking 13 field goals but he’s also trying to help replace the lost offense of Dennis Schroder.
He filled up the box score with 10 points, two rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. The latter two stats are why he’s on the court — for defense.
Now let’s back up and look at who Dort was guarding. The Canadian spent the majority of the day on guys who are five to seven inches taller than him. With Porter Jr. going off it was Dort who was moved on to him to try to turn off his scoring outburst.
Down the road, we’ll hope Hamidou Diallo or Darius Bazley will eventually be able to handle those tasks. But the fact Donovan felt his only option was to turn to Dort speaks to just how deeply he’s entrenched himself in Donovan’s good books.
And, can we just talk about that block on Millsap? WOW! It was 9:10 of the third quarter for those who want to go back and check it out.
Take away the loss and this was a pretty standard Danilo Gallinari performance. He scored 20 points on 6 of 14 field goals including 4 of 9 from deep. There were the typical all-around contributions elsewhere with three rebounds, two assists and he was the only starter in the positive differential (+1).
Yet there were also issues defensively that stood out more than normal. Gallo couldn’t be put on Michael Porter Jr. and yet you would hope your power forward could guard the opposition forward.
Still, if OKC had found a way to slow down MPJ than we’re looking at his contributions in this game with delight.
There are certain matchups Steven Adams dominates. This one versus Nikola Jokic isn’t one of those. It requires Adams to do so much because the Joker does.
Whereas Adams is your meat and potato center with a little gravy added for all those off box score things he does, Jokic is playing more with the attributes of a guard.
What makes this matchup so frustrating is how much Jokic gets away with. Whether he’s linking his elbow through Adams or pushing him in the chest to the ground without punishment the Joker has so many tricks up his sleeve it’s hard to keep up.
Should Jokic be penalized more – absolutely but he’s a master at either hiding his infraction or making it look like he’s the one being fouled.
If he was on our team we’d probably love him but when he plays for the opposition is extremely frustrating to watch.
Although Adams scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds his minus 18 differential was the worst on the team.