OKC Thunder grades: Career-best by Bazley not enough to quell Wizards

OKC Thunder starting lineup grades:

Theo Maledon continues to grow with each minute he plays. While his shooting isn’t always hot he never allows it to affect his overall production.

Facing two All-Star point guards Maledon gained more valuable lessons that will come in handy down the road. Overall, his performance was above average with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three turnovers. He connected on two of his five 3-point attempts and got to the line a couple of times.

Kenrich Williams is one of the hidden gems of this roster. While he’s not a player who’ll be in the conversation for awards or All-Star appearances his presence on the team is just as important as he delivers whatever he’s asked to do.

On Monday, that equated to starting and trying to stop two of the most talented guards in the association. He responded with 15 points on 50 percent shooting (5 of 10) from the field and perimeter (2 of 4). In addition, he grabbed seven boards (three on the offensive glass) and dished three dimes.

Thunder fans are getting spoiled by Aleksej Pokusevski. Although there is a ton of growth still to come he is such a unique player and each game offers a little gem to savor.

I got the benefit of hearing the local media in Toronto rave about him on Sunday. One of the Raptors media analysts offered up an intriguing comparison of Poku — suggesting he is a thinner version of Boris Diaw. While they are completely different body types it’s understandable why analysts are completely fascinated by Pousevski. His height and talent provide the potential for him to do so many different things on the court.

He followed up his six-block performance in Tampa Bay without a single block in Washington, instead offering four rebounds, five assists plus a steal to go along with eight points and the best +/- of the starters (-2). And, can we talk about that behind-the-back pass to Bradley in the second quarter?

A full stat sheet was his positive in this match but was tempered by his six turnovers and another cold shooting night.  Yet, the important takeaway is every minute POKU gets is more experience and an opportunity for growth.

A career night for Darius Bazley who was the best OKC Thunder player on the hardwood. While his 26 points were a career-best his performance was so much more than scoring.

In fact, his shooting wasn’t that efficient — he connected on seven of his 19 shots but was cold from the perimeter (1 of 6). What he did, however, was get to the charity stripe 13 times connecting on 11.  A night after coughing up the ball five times in Tampa Bay he had a single turnover while collecting seven rebounds and three assists.

Intentions often call for Bazley to be more aggressive and he was in this match. His shot when falling is so much and he has a major height advantage over the majority of his opponents so simply by getting into the paint his scoring opportunities increase.

Yet, his defense on Russell Westbrook arguably trumped everything else he did in Washington. The Brodie had a rough night scoring (5 of 18) and almost didn’t get his triple-double based on points.

A rough night versus the Raptors seemed like a one-off, however, the game in Washington wasn’t much better for Moses Brown.

He missed all three shot attempts – one where a simple put back, would have sufficed but he attempted to slam it instead and it bounced off the rim.

It might be a coincidence or perhaps a better scouting report on Brown. But since he became a full-time member of the Thunder his worst two games were his last two. Or, he might just be fatigued and perhaps that’s why he didn’t get as much run in the second half with Bradley having a bigger impact.