Grading Thunder Players After Wednesday’s Win at Washington

OKC Thunder starting lineup grades:

Dort’s decision-making has been questionable at times lately, but his production on Wednesday was strong. He scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting while draining three out of six three-point attempts. He also snagged two rebounds and added in one assist, one steal, and one block. With the Thunder down 92-89 early in the fourth quarter, Dort snagged a key offensive rebound off a missed layup by Jalen Williams. He dumped the ball off to Giddey, who finished at the rim to bring the Thunder within one point.

Giddey struggled for long stretches on Wednesday night. He was a -23 while playing only 20 minutes. He didn’t start the second half and spent most of the game’s final minutes on the bench. He did re-enter with 6.1 seconds left to serve as the in-bounder before Shai’s game-winner. On the bright side, Giddey did have two big baskets in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer with 6:36 left that broke open a tie game and gave the Thunder a three-point lead.

Has anyone coined the phrase “HIM-VP” yet?Shai sets the bar higher for himself after each amazing performance and somehow he continues to exceed expectations. Once again, Shai was the best player on the court for either team. As mentioned previously, he set a new career high with 42 points on only 21 shots. He also grabbed six rebounds (including two offensive rebounds) and dished out seven assists. Shai is shooting 50% from three on 3.5 attempts per game over his last four games, which is an encouraging sign after he only shot one three-pointer over a three-game span earlier this month. His five missed three throws were surprising after he shot 94 percent through his first 13 appearances, but he gets a pass because he is so efficient from the field.

Poku strangely only played 14 minutes in this game. Perhaps his ankle was bothering him after Monday’s game despite the fact that he didn’t show up on the injury report before Wednesday’s contest. Poku scored the first six points of the game on two made three-point baskets. He scored again in the second quarter off an excellent pass from Josh Giddey on the wing. Poku continues to impress on defense as well. He blocked three shots in Wednesday’s game, increasing his streak of games with at least one block to nine. He has 13 total blocks over his last five games and is looking more and more like a force to be reckoned with at the rim.

Aaron Wiggins played only 28 minutes in total over a five-games stretch to begin the month, including two DNP-CDs. Since then, he is averaging 24 minutes per game and earned another start on Wednesday night. Wiggins’ stats don’t always blow you away – he scored seven points on 3-5 shooting and added in three rebounds on Wednesday night. To fully appreciate Wiggins’ contributions, you have to watch the game. On Wednesday, Thunder fans saw Wiggins diving for loose balls and taking charges from Kristaps Porzingis. Perhaps there’s a reason why the Thunder are 5-0 when Wiggins starts.

Up next we’ll take a look at the Thunder’s top bench contributor and a key performer from the opposing team.