Despite their two best big men being out, the OKC Thunder took care of the Washington Wizards – Grades tells the story.
Steven Adams sat out his second game and Nerlens Noel was a late scratching leaving the OKC Thunder thin at the center position. Fortunately, they were still able to have a big body in the middle thanks to Mike Muscala.
This meant that the Washington Wizards were always going to have the advantage on the boards. The OKC Thunder focused on team rebounding with five players collecting six or more rebounds for the game, this was crucial to limiting second-chance points.
The game was over after the first quarter thanks to the hot shooting of the OKC Thunder from deep. The Wizards had very little experience on the court. They are focusing on youth and they just were outmatched against the Thunder experience.
Again the Thunder has shown that they have the ability to put a poor performance behind them as they led the entirety of the game. This will be crucial moving forward into the playoffs as it is going to make this squad very hard to beat in a seven-game series.
The other crucial part of the win is the Thunder is on the first leg of a back to back. Tomorrow they play against one of the hottest teams in the bubble, the Phoenix Suns, and would have faced the possibility of a three-game skid had they not taken care of business.
On to grades
Starters grades
The player experiencing the biggest change in their role since Dennis Schroder exited the bubble is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA has struggled at times with adapting but looked a lot better today. He found his drive to the hoop and distributed the ball well when at the point.
This was a game where Chris Paul did not need to exert his will on the game at any point. He simply quietly accumulated stats, mainly setting his teammates up. While he struggled with his shot, Paul had the highest plus/minus on the team with plus 26.
Without a quality opposition guard to stop, Luguentz Dort was able to focus on other aspects of his game. Dort was effective on offense, hitting from deep but also driving dangerously to the hoop. Dort also crashed the boards due to the absence of the big men, missing out on a double-double by a single point.
Despite sitting for a large portion of the second quarter, Danilo Gallinari finished the first half with 12 points, shooting the ball efficiently which helped the Thunder beat the zone. He started the game driving hard to the hoop which meant his defender did not step up to defend the long ball. Gallinari exploited this to great effect, collecting 20 points for the game.
Fresh out of the concussion protocol, Muscala was pressed into starting. How did he respond? By hitting his first three attempts from deep and scoring 11 points in the first half. His presence on the court allowed for tremendous spacing which was crucial for beating the zone defense of the Wizards. Best game in a Thunder uniform
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