OKC Thunder grades: Pokusevski impresses Kings crew in loss

A rough finish to week 20 for the OKC Thunder who lost for the second time to the Sacramento Kings. There were a few entertaining moments for Thunder Nation but the game was put out of reach early. Chalk this one up to a young team who were playing their third game in four nights and looked like it.

The positive is the Thunder collected the coveted “L”, the negative was how they did it.

OKC got blown out and the Kings had eight players score in double-figures but the young Thunder battled, albeit too late, and offered a few enticing moments.

Look there are numerous teams in the NBA who are having to utilize different starting lineups every game and it’s costing them too. And, those are clubs (Raptors for example have used 34 different lineups) that still have experienced talent on the court.

Conversely, OKC’s starting unit featured Darius Bazley as the longest-serving Thunder player — and he’s only playing in his second season (both in the league and with OKC). Switching up rotations takes time to build rhythm and chemistry so losses aren’t that surprising.

Postgame, OKC head coach Mark Daigneault lamented the first-half defense noting the Thunder dug themselves a hole they never recovered from. It was one of the few times this season Daigneault has called out his team for a lack of effort. The bench boss noted Sacramento’s confidence surged early due to the Thunder’s lack of competitive defensive grit.

OKC Thunder versus Sacramento Kings player grades, May 9th:

It’s also quite likely Daigneault spoke to the team at the half about effort as they trailed 71-51 but they allowed the Kings to outscore them 35-20 in the third so the message clearly didn’t resonate. Moreover, OKC’s starting lineup featured two 7′ footers (Moses Brown, Aleksej Pokusevski) alongside two 6’8″ power forwards (Darius Bazley, Isaiah Roby) and Theo Maledon who is a tall (6’4″) point guard. Yet, the Kings outrebounded the Thunder 51-38!

In fairness, it has to be disheartening for the young squad to experience continual losing. Factor in they don’t have cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Luguentz Dort, who was also sidelined in this match.

In fact, the Thunder were missing many key contributors and Daigneault elected to not play certain guys who’ve often been a calming force (Kenrich Williams for example). These final games are about the guys who are getting minutes to show their skills and carve out a role for themselves moving forward. And effort is the one skill set everyone can offer.

With that, it’s time to review the starting rotation grades along with the best reserve and opponent.