OKC Thunder player grades: Dort’s career night fails to beat Jazz

Best OKC Thunder reserve performance:

There is so much to like about Ty Jerome’s game. Jerome and Kenrich Williams have been the hidden gem surprises of the season. Every game he seems to do some little play that has us sitting up. A key shot (like that ridiculous 3-pointer tonight), a special pass, or an unexpected defensive effort play.

I’m anxious to see how Jerome and Williams fit once SGA returns and particularly next season when more pieces will have upgraded the roster.

Best opponent performance:

OKC Thunder fans got a full display of the Jazz talent in this match. Rudy Gobert showcased why he’s a perennial DPoY candidate with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds along with seven blocks.

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George Niang also could’ve easily landed here with his own double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds or Bojan Bogdanovic who collected 23 points and got to the line 10 times. And of course, there was Mitchell who was the key focus of the defensive game plan and still scored 22 points.

Yet, it was Mike Conley who best exemplifies why this Jazz squad is in the position they are. A season ago, the veteran struggled to fit into Quin Snyder’s complicated system.

A season later he is the glue within that system and his ability to organically read when a shift is required and then orchestrate the play to shift the momentum is a big reason why the Jazz are poised for a deep run in the postseason.

Conley had his own double-double of 15 points along with a season-high 14 assists, two steals, and a block.

For the full ESPN box score click here. The Thunder are back in action this evening playing host to the Golden State Warriors.