OKC Thunder player grades from loss to understaffed Pacers

OKC Thunder starting lineup grades:

Aleksej Pokusevski didn’t play much of a role in Wednesday’s game. The rookie played just five minutes before leaving the game due to a non-COVID illness.

Because of that, it’s not really fair to grade his play. When he was on the court, Pokusevski hit one of his three shots and pulled down two rebounds. He finished with two points in the game.

Bazley blew up the stat charts and had a pretty solid game if you ignore how many shots it took for him to get there.

Bazley shot 36 percent for the night for 26 points. Aside from his shooting, he was active on the boards, securing nine rebounds. He also managed to pick up two assists and one steal in the game.

So while he wasn’t awful, there were some moments where Bazley should have deferred rather than force a shot that just wasn’t there.

Of course, if he wasn’t going to do it, who would have?

Brown is typically reliable, as was the case during Wednesday night’s game in which the young center scored 12 points on 62.5 percent shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action.

Imagine what could have been if Brown would have gotten 30 minutes rather than 16.

The center is a force in the paint and has clearly carved out a place for himself on the Thunder roster. When it comes to offensive and defensive rebounds, there might not be a player in the NBA who is as determined to come up with them as Brown.

In terms of on-court time, Mykhailiuk fell in just behind Bazley, seeing just over 36 minutes of action. And he delivered in that time.

Mykhailiuk has shown plenty of promise since coming to the OKC Thunder, and he continues to show his value even as the Thunder are committed to being awful.

Mykhailiuk finished with 20 points on 56.3 percent shooting, but his shooting is just a bonus to what else he can do on the court.

Mykhailiuk got involved in the rebound game, finishing with nine, and he also spent time finding open teammates, finishing with four assists. Defensively, Mykhailiuk had two blocks.

It’s almost easy to forget about his five turnovers when he plays as well as he did.

Theo Maledon is a wildcard each night. Wednesday night was no exception.

The rookie guard didn’t shoot great, hitting just 30 percent of his shots for nine points, but he didn’t ruin the Thunder’s chances down the stretch, either.

Maledon’s presence was felt primarily in the passing game, where he finished with seven assists. His ability to find the open teammate is getting better with each passing game, and when he’s not having a great night in the scoring column, he can always be depended on to get other players going.