OKC Thunder take care of Wizards – player grades

Best reserve and opponent

In his best game as a rookie, Darius Bazley looked great. His shot was falling from both inside and out. He competed at the five when the Thunder went to super small ball. He even kept Gallinari on the bench for a large portion of the second quarter such was the quality of his play.

Bazley had a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers. Without wanting to get too hyped about the performance as it was against a very undermanned Wizards squad, Bazley’s confidence should be boosted by this game. We all know that when his confidence is up, Bazley can do some special things.

Best Opponent

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The honor of best opponent goes to Wizards bench man Jerome Robinson who quietly accumulated 19 points and six assists in a really solid game. He was also the only Wizards player who played more than five minutes to not have a negative impact on the box score. His plus-minus was zero.

An honorable mention goes to Moritz Wagner who contributed 12 points off the bench. He was one of the few players who was able to get inside with any ease against the weakened Thunder defense.

This completes game five of eight for the Thunder and maintains their fifth seed, pending what the Rockets do later this evening.

For the full gamut of stats check out the ESPN box score by clicking here.

The OKC Thunder play the Phoenix Suns tomorrow at 2:30 ET in what is shaping up to be a crucial game for both franchises