OKC Thunder: Player grades vs. Pelicans feature Gabriel Deck’s debut

Best OKC Thunder reserve performance:

The hat tip for the Thunder reserve was an easy choice with the exception of Svi Mykhailiuk.

Isaiah Roby stood out in this loss for all the right reasons. Although no one was able to stop Zion he performed better than others. More impressive was his offense and his fluid game. Whether he was hitting catch and shoot threes, step back 3-pointers, taking the ball 94 feet for a lay-in, or posterizing the Pelcians Thunder Nation got examples of his full offensive package tonight.

Frankly, I’d rather Mark Daigneault started Roby over Brown but I understand they want him playing with the reserves (I’m assuming partially so he can add offense to that group and partially because OKC is tanking).

His stat line is equally impressive with 13 points, nine rebounds (two offensive boards), two assists, and three steals. He shot 5 of 9 from the floor, 2 of 3 from deep, and 1 of 1 from the charity stripe.

And he did that all in 16 minutes!

Best opponent performance:

There is a reason so many analysts were excited about the prospect of Zion Williamson when he was coming into the league. There simply isn’t another player like him in the NBA.

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While he’s still figuring out the defensive end of the floor the offense is clearly figured out. He led all scorers with 27 points. Brown as noted prior (and pretty much all the Thunder players) had no answer in how to stop Zion who bobbed and weaved his way through them all for easy scores.

Zion added eight rebounds and six assists. In his post-game interview, the youngster spoke of how the Pelcians are focused on getting that 10th seed to be involved in the play-in tournament.

"“I think the motivation for us would be we want to be in the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t really think there’s no detailed answer. I think we just want to be able to have a chance to play in the playoffs.”"

In closing

There were some positives for the OKC Thunder and Daigneault’s coaching staff to draw from in the loss. OKC held the Pelicans to 17.9 percent from the perimeter (5 of 29). They also hung tight with the Pels on the glass (53 to 56).

Not to belabor my rant of Brown but losing the paint battle by 20 points (64 to 44) is an issue the team needs to clean up. Turnovers also remained an issue with OKC coughing up 22 leading to 23 easy points for New Orleans.

For those wanting a full review of the game click this link for the ESPN box score.

Next up the OKC Thunder will be tested in a back-to-back weekend set on Saturday and Sunday as they play host to the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns.