Grading Thunder Players After Saturday’s Loss in Cleveland

Best Thunder Bench Performance

Isaiah Joe gave the Thunder a much-needed spark during the second half, scoring 10 points and shooting 3-5 from three-point land. He added two steals on the defensive end as well. Throughout the game, he had the best plus/minus of any Thunder player (+8) in his nineteen minutes. Joe has seven DNP-CDs this year and is only averaging nine minutes per game, but his nineteen minutes on Saturday were the second-most he’s played so far this season. Perhaps he’s on his way to earning more minutes. Showings like this certainly make you wonder if he deserves it.

Best Opponent Performance

Caris LeVert’s strong scoring night helped make up for the loss of Donovan Mitchell. LeVert played 38 minutes and scored 22 points to go with eight assists, two steals, and three rebounds. He was a perfect 6-6 from the line and made four of nine three-point attempts. Despite the fact that LeVert faded into the background behind Mobley and Allen during the fourth quarter, his 17 first-half points helped the Cavs build up a comfortable lead going into halftime.

Wrapping Up

The Thunder finishes their five-game road trip with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at 7:30 pm. The Mavericks are currently 13-13 and tied for 10th place in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder are 1-0 against the Mavericks this season after previously defeating Dallas 117-111 in an overtime battle on October 29th.