The OKC Thunder rolled into the new week with a matchup against the Houston Rockets as the Oklahoma City Thunder looked to snap their losing streak against their fellow tanking foes in Houston…well, I guess they looked to continue their winning streak, depending on how you looked at it.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Houston Rockets, 102-89, in what was a dreadful game to watch. The Thunder shot just 13-percent from deep on 43 attempts…yes, 43 attempts! They made seven of them. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in triples made, with two. No one had more than one, Lu Dort shot the most from distance with six attempts.
The Thunder were outrebounded, lose the battle of the paint, lose the second chance points category, had fewer fast break points, and did few things well.
The team was outgunned missing Kenrich Williams and Mike Muscala, the two most consistent and effective rotational players Mark Daigneault has at his disposal. OKC also did not have Vit Krejci, who was assigned to the OKC Blue, and Derrick Favors who had a non-COVID illness. Still in all this roster shuffling, the Thunder could not find minutes for Gabriel Deck. The Rockets also missed key pieces, namely second overall pick Jalen Green.
The Oklahoma City Thunder bench boss was forced to shuffle around the rotation due to the lack of depth, and also the lack of spark in this game as the Thunder eventually fell behind by 21 points. Enter Isaiah Roby, who had not played since the Atlanta Hawks game, and had not played above 15 minutes in a contest since October.
OKC Thunder forward Isaiah Roby breaks out vs the Houston Rockets
Isaiah Roby was a staple of the Oklahoma City Thunder rotation a year ago, even becoming a legitimate starter at the end of the season. He impressed less than a calendar year ago while playing an unnatural position as the small ball five. Roby made great strides from being a player that last December Thunder fans wanted to be cut in favor of Frank Jackson, to a fan favorite by the end of the year.
Roby returned to the rotation on Monday night, despite not finding out until 3:00 p.m. he would see game action. The Nebraska Product was great around the rim, in the dunker spot, and finishing through contact. He also went 1-for-2 from distance, caught an ally oop, and posted 17 points in his 26-minutes of action. The 23-year-old forward hauled in five rebounds, grabbed a steal, and swatted a shot.
Mark Daigneault went as far as to say after the game this performance showed they need to get Roby more game action.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in 45-percent from the floor, 2-of-5 from three-point land, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and as many blocks on his way to 22 points. SGA was back to his old ways in this game which is impressive considering how bad his teammates played allowing the defense to key in on him even more.
Tre Mann also stepped up in a big way, going for 17 points in 30 minutes, as the first sub off the bench Mann managed to show OKC Thunder fans his scoring upside in this tilt with the Rockets.