Tag: Darius Bazley

OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault talks about Chris Paul’s Thunder tenure

Sunday will be the first time Chris Paul will play in front of an OKC crowd since March 3, 2020 (762 days).

With the Phoenix Suns in town on Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reminisced a bit about Chris Paul’s one-year tenure with the team during the 2019-20 season after Thursday’s practice. Daigneault was an assistant on head coach Billy Donovan’s staff that season.

Daigneault was promoted to head coach and Paul was traded to the Suns during the following offseason.

“The level of self-driven professionalism,” said Daigneault. “He is the CEO of his career.”

Daigneault said one of the earliest impressions Paul made on him was his ability to be an all-time great player despite his short stature. Daigneault said that players as great as Paul usually are a lot bigger in size.

The only players that remain from that 2020 bubble squad are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Mike Muscala and Isaiah Roby. Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander and Bazley benefited massively due to Paul’s leadership and influence.

“Anytime you’re around people that raise the bar,” said Daigneault. “I think that’s a good thing.”

Sunday will be the first time Paul will play in front of an Oklahoma City crowd since March 3, 2020 (762 days). 
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OKC Thunder news: Darius Bazley out for the rest of the season with knee fracture

There’s a very real possibility that the Thunder decide Baze’s future with the team this offseason via either a trade or extension.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Monday that forward Darius Bazley will miss the remaining eight games in the regular season due to a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his right knee. Bazley suffered the knee injury during Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

Bazley finished his third season averaging 10.8 points on 42.2 percent shooting, 6.3 rebounds and one block in 69 games.

With Bazley’s third season officially done, it’ll be interesting to see how the Thunder handle his future as he is extension eligible and will enter restricted free agency next summer if a deal is not met this offseason. Bazley’s tenure with the Thunder has been an inconsistent one but has looked better in recent months with a simplified role on offense.

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OKC Thunder player grades: Shorthanded roster impresses as Nuggets barely escape with win, 113-107

The eight available players who finished the game for the Thunder all played extensive G League minutes this season.

After a stressful fourth quarter that saw the game tied during multiple portions of the game, the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder eventually fall short to the Denver Nuggets, 113-107.

This game playing out as close as it was despite the Thunder being as depleted as it was — the team only had nine players available with eight of them playing extensive G League minutes this season — speaks more about the Nuggets than the Thunder. Congrats on the Thunder for making this a game, but the Nuggets were looking down a barrel of a second straight embarrassing home loss to one of the worst teams in the league missing its top-six players. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic carried his team to a win with a 35 point, 12 rebound and eight assist performance.

Meanwhile, the Thunder were able to spread the wealth around as the team had six of its eight players score in double digits. In reality, the Thunder only had eight guys available for the majority of the game as Darius Bazley exited in the first half due to a knee sprain.

Even if the bigger story of this game is the Nuggets failing to put away a glorified G League team, the shorthanded Thunder deserve recognition for playing as well it did in Denver for the second time this season. The Thunder have historically struggled playing in Denver, but that was not the case this season as both games were split. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Tre Mann, SGA each score a 30-piece in 132-123 loss to Celtics

SGA & Tre Mann combined for 66 points on 26-of-44 (59.1%) shooting.

The first couple minutes of this game really previewed how this contest was going to go as the Boston Celtics quickly came out of the gates with a 13-0 lead. The writing was on the wall for this game as the Celtics entered Monday with the second-best record in 2022 at 27-9, meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost ten consecutive games. So this game turning out to be a 132-123 loss for the Thunder should not shock many.

For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way as the star duo combined for 61 points. This game also marked the return of Al Horford to Oklahoma City for the first time since being on the team last season.

Overall, this was a textbook loss for the Thunder. The Celtics led by double digits most of the game and led by as much as 26 points. But the Thunder were able to make things interesting in the end as it outscored the Celtics, 39-24, in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the lead was too big for the Thunder to overcome in a single quarter.

Now that doesn’t mean there weren’t some positives to take away from this game for the Thunder. The second quarter featured Tre Mann having another 20-point quarter for the second time in three games while the fourth quarter featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 13 points as both finished with 30-point performances. This was a very encouraging win as the Thunder turned a boring blowout loss to a competitive and fun finish. With that said, let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder lose critical lottery game to Magic, 90-85

The Thunder are now closer to top lottery odds than they are to fifth place in the reverse standings.

Out of all the games in the NBA, that was certainly one of them. In a game that featured two of the four worst teams in the league in terms of standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Orlando Magic, 90-85.

Both teams struggled to generate any type of offense as the fourth quarter began with a score in the low 60s. The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he deals with right ankle soreness while the Magic continue to be the Magic.

Wendell Carter Jr. helped led the Magic to its 19th win of the season with a season-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Thunder had arguably its worst offensive performance of the season — which says a lot for the worst offensive-rated team in the league. The Thunder shot just 32.6% from the field which included going 27.1% from three.

More importantly, the Thunder lose a crucial game to a team with a worse record than it. Due to its current nine-game losing streak, the Thunder are just a game back from top three lottery odds and just three games back for the worst record in the league. Considering how things looked just a month ago as the Thunder fought off other threats for top four lottery odds, it feels like the team has made a lot of progress in that area as it’s safe to say the team will have the fourth best lottery odds at worst come seasons end.

But yeah, this was an ugly and sloppy game between two of the worst teams in the league. What was expected is what happened with this game. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA, Tre Mann highlight 120-108 loss to Heat

The Thunder’s losing streak extends to eight games as SGA & Tre Mann combine for 51 points.

Considering this game was a matchup between a team with the first seed in the Eastern Conference and a team fighting to get the first overall pick, this outcome was the most likely one. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s losing streak extends to eight games as the Miami Heat blow them out, 120-108.

The Thunder were able to keep up for just a quarter as the Heat blew this game open in the middle quarters to make the entirety of the fourth quarter garbage time. The Thunder’s 12-point advantage in the fourth quarter made the final deficit look more respectable, but considering the Heat led by as much as 29 points, don’t let the final score fool you.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tre Mann were the brightest positives for this game as both scored over 20 points with the latter shooting the ball lights out in the first half off the bench.

For the Heat, it was a well-balanced scoring attack as seven players scored in double figures with sixth man Tyler Herro leading the way at 26 points.

This game was a reminder at just how far apart both of these teams are from each other in the NBA hierarchy. The Thunder have had a pleasant season considering expectations, but the franchise still has a long way to go to which the Heat’s levels. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA, Darius Bazley combine for 59 points in heartbreaking 122-120 loss to Spurs

Anotha game, anotha 30-pointer for SGA

In arguably the most entertaining loss of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the San Antonio Spurs, 122-120. It would feel a little malpractice to not write or say much about the first 45:41 of this game, but considering just how chaotic the final 2:19 was, this game has earned an exception.

To start things off, with the Thunder trailing by three, Aleksej Pokusevski — who is going to be mentioned a lot in this piece due to how massive of a role he played in the final couple minutes of the game — got fouled from behind the three-point line. Now keep in mind that Pokusevski has taken just 31 total free-throw attempts in 52 games this season, shooting just 67.7 percent from the line. Knowing this, it would be pretty hard to imagine Pokusevski hitting all three but that’s exactly what happened here. So okay, much to the surprise of many, Pokusevski hit all three free throws and the game is tied back up.

The Spurs would miss on the next possession and that miss led to a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shooting foul, where the 80 percent career free throw shooter split the difference. With the Thunder leading by one, both teams would exchange sloppy turnovers before a Jakob Poeltl layup gave the Spurs the one-point edge with  1:15 left.

After another empty Thunder possession, the Spurs ran up the court and Keldon Johnson received the ball as he was running full speed to the basket and tried posterizing Pokusevski. Tried to at least. The timing of the dunk and where he took off from considering the game situation was a bit of a questionable decision that came to bite Johnson back immediately. Instead of giving the Spurs a three-point lead with arguably the poster of the season, Pokusevski contested the shot enough to force a miss.

The Thunder and Spurs would then exchange missed three-pointers, which included a really bad one by Gilgeous-Alexander, who was otherwise great this game, that felt a little forced and perhaps was his attempt to get a two-for-one.

Nonetheless, the Spurs would miss one more shot before Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the defensive board and slung the ball across half court to a streaking Pokusevski for an easy layup in transition that gave the Thunder a one-point lead with 4.8 seconds left. The pass totally redeemed Gilgeous-Alexander’s bad missed rush three from a couple of possessions ago and a Pokusevski game winner would have encapsulated the run he’s been on since the beginning of February.

But alas, there were still 4.8 seconds left and that was enough time for Lonnie Walker IV to make a difficult three-point game-winning basket to give the Spurs the win to end this one out. The Thunder had less then two seconds to generate offense and that was just enough time for Gilgeous-Alexander to throw a prayer up that wasn’t answered.

Even with the heartbreaking loss, the wild finish of this game made it really entertaining and a fun watch. The Thunder came up short but considering how poorly they’ve played recently, losing six in a row and all by at least seven points, this close, nail-biting loss was a breathe of fresh air. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder blow 18-point lead, SGA & Bazley combine for 57 points in 134-116 loss to Hornets

SGA continues to play like arguably the best scorer in the league since the ASB in a blowout loss to the Hornets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue to search for its first win in nearly two weeks as the team falls to the Charlotte Hornets, 134-116.

After a hot start in the first quarter where the team scored 41 points and led by as much as 18 points, the Hornets were able to take control for the rest of the game and outscore the Thunder 105-75 in the remaining three quarters. This game continues the trend of the Thunder’s once top defense regressing to one of the worst in the league due to injuries.

Entering this game, since the All-Star break, the Thunder have the 29th ranked defensive rating at 121.3. Just for comparison reasons, the Thunder had the eighth-best defensive rating at 108.6 before the All-Star break.

The Hornets were able to swing this game their way with its outside shooting, as they shot 20-of-35 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Hornets entered the game as a top-five team in the league in terms of three-pointers made per game.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to play like one of the best players in the league recently as he collected his eighth game of at least 30 points in his last 10 contests. Darius Bazley also followed up a career night with another 20-point performance.

For the Hornets, Terry Rozier led the team in scoring with 30 points. Miles Bridges also finished with 27 points and LaMelo Ball had an 21 point and seven assists performance.

Overall, the defensive slippage in recent weeks was not more evident than it was in this game as the Hornets were able to score 102 points in three quarters with ease. The Thunder simply do not have the offensive firepower to keep up with that type of scoring currently — even with Gilgeous-Alexander being a nuclear scorer in recent weeks. Let’ take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA, Darius Bazley combine for 60 points in 125-118 loss to Grizzlies

SGA & Baze combining for 60 points, Steven Adams’ return and uniform mix ups are the biggest highlights of Sunday’s loss.

The Oklahoma City Thunder come up short against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, 125-118.

This was a good loss for the Thunder as they fought to the wire against a Grizzlies team that is the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs standings. The Grizzlies led by as much as 18 points and for double digits for the majority of the game, but the Thunder were never out of the game and continued to stay competitive despite the lead only changing three times.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley were the headliners for the Thunder in this game as they combined for 60 points. This included Bazley scoring a career-high in points and Gilgeous-Alexander finishing with another 30-point performance.

Meanwhile, for the Grizzlies, it was an evenly distributed scoring output as seven of the 10 players who stepped on the floor this game scored in the double digits. Desmond Bane led the way with 21 points.

Overall, this was a productive loss. The shorthanded Thunder were able to make this a game until the final buzzer against one of the best young teams in the league. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder news: Bleacher Report proposes a trade that would land the Thunder Zion Williamson

2022-23 season opener starting lineup: SGA – Dort – Giddey – Zion – 2022 FRP?

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz recently published an article this past Monday that highlighted trade hypotheticals for some of the worst teams in the league could make to make their situation from hopeless to hopeful.

This included the Oklahoma City Thunder landing New Orleans Pelicans’ forward Zion Williamson in a package of mostly draft picks. The full trade details would be the Thunder receiving the 2019 first overall pick in exchange for Darius Bazley, the 2022 first-round pick from the LA Clippers, the 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick from the Washington Wizards and the 2024 top-four-protected first-round pick from the Houston Rockets:

“As much as the Pelicans may not want to give up on Williamson just yet, the Thunder could certainly entice David Griffin by finally cashing in their treasure trove of draft picks.

Adding Williamson to a core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort suddenly makes OKC one of the best young teams in the NBA. It would be a risky move to be sure given his injury history, but no team is more suited to roll the dice than the Thunder.

OKC owns multiple first-round picks in the next five drafts, so even parting with one first each year gives the Thunder at least one to still utilize.”

Obviously, the Thunder would make this trade in a heartbeat. Getting a generational talent and only having to give up three first-round picks that don’t even include their own and a role player is an easy give up in this situation, even with Williamson’s health concerns.

If the Thunder can land Williamson while keeping their own 2022 first-round pick, then that means next season could have a starting lineup that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Zion Williamson and whichever top pick the team drafts. This sounds way too good to be true, which makes this trade proposal much more pie in the sky than in the realms of reality.

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