OKC Thunder deliver statement win vs. Lakers: Grades

Best OKC Thunder Reserve:

Pre-game it felt like this could be a night where Darius Bazley would feast but he had a poor shooting night.

It turned out Hamidou Diallo was the player who seemed to be everywhere on the floor. One player scored with Hami as the primary defender — LeBron. However, he scored ONCE in four attempts.

And offensively he was active and aggressive. Diallo scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists and had a steal in 16:46 of playing time.

I’m more convinced than I’ve ever been Diallo is going to be a factor in this team’s future core. Defensively, he’s already among the best on the team and sneaky good in copious categories not typically seen on a box score.

As for the offense, he put in work during the hiatus that is evident but will need to continue those efforts to become more versatile. But the two things to really like about his current offense is he doesn’t just shoot the 3-ball for the sake of shooting it – he takes them when he’s open.  But what I really like is he’s constantly moving and making cuts so the offense seldom bogs down when he’s out there.

Best Opponent:

There isn’t even an option for this choice. LeBron had to work so hard to get his teammates shots who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

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Even on an off night, he delivered 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Still, he shot 0-5 from deep and 5 of 8 from the line.

He spent a good portion of the night complaining to refs, picking up a technical foul for some colorful language (tossed out at the refs from the bench).

Billy Donovan’s game plan was spot on and the team did a great job executing it.

The OKC Thunder is back in action Friday facing a desperate Grizzlies squad who hasn’t won a game yet and lost Jaren Jackson Jr. due to a meniscus tear. More on that tomorrow.

For a full box score of tonight’s game, head over to this link courtesy of ESPN.