Tag: Darius Bazley

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder complete 18-point comeback in win against Blazers

The Thunder snap its seven-game losing streak as the Blazers struggle to score just 81 points.

In their first of at least 10 games without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to complete the 18-point comeback against the Portland Trail Blazers in a 98-81 win. The Thunder were really able to turn things around in the second half as they outscored the Trail Blazers, 59-34.

The Thunder defense deserves a lot of credit. It’s easy to dunk on the Trail Blazers for failing to beat a rebuilding Thunder team without its best player, but keep in mind that they averaged 117.7 points in its last three games.

It was an evenly distributed scoring game for the Thunder as four players finished with double-digit scoring with no one exceeding 18 points. Just like Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has preached since Gilgeous-Alexander went down, no one single person is going to make up for his production and it’s going to take a collective effort where everybody excels in their role. That was clearly the case in Monday’s win over the Trail Blazers. 22 of its 35 made field goals were assisted on. Now it’s time to see if this can carry over for the remainder of Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA injures ankle, Dort scores 27 in OT loss to the Pacers

The Thunder extends its losing streak to seven games as the Pacers win in OT; SGA injured his ankle with a nasty sprain.

In their first overtime of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Indiana Pacers, 113-110. Despite feeling dull and sluggish in stretches due to constant stoppage in plays due to referee reviews, this game had quite the exciting finish that included the Thunder blowing a four-on-one opportunity with 11 seconds left down one.

The Pacers were able to escape with a rare road win due to the return of Domantas Sabonis as he finished with a 24 point, 18 rebound and 10 assist triple-double. Justin Holiday also chipped in with 22 points and Jeremy Lamb scored five of his 14 points in overtime.

From a reverse standings perspective, this was a great loss to have as the Thunder’s lead over the Pacers grows to three games and are now tied for the third-best lottery odds in the league with the Houston Rockets. Playing these type of games where the opposition is close in the tank standings are crucial to lose as a full game is on the line.

Now the Thunder wait and see how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander feels as he exited in the third quarter with a nasty ankle sprain and immediately limped his way to the locker room. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the team will know more on Saturday. If Gilgeous-Alexander is out in an extended period of time, I have a hard time seeing the Thunder’s recent losing fortunes change as the rebuilding team loses its best player. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA scores 34 points on 18 shots in two-point loss to Mavs

SGA finished with 34 points on 11-18 shooting and went 11-12 from the free throw line in 104-102 loss to the Mavericks.

Things looked bleak after the first two and a half quarters of this game; with the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing the Dallas Mavericks 70-48 with 5:42 left, the game looked all but over. The Thunder were not able to get any offense going and struggled generating points and converting on their shots.

But things began to click for the Thunder the rest of the way as they outscored the Mavericks 53-34. Ultimately, the 22-point deficit was too much to overcome and the Thunder lost by two points. Nonetheless, this was a great performance by the team that showed off their resilience and ability to overcome deficits and make things interesting, especially against a Mavericks team that were 8-1 in the 2022 calendar year before this game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way as he outdueled his fellow 2018 NBA Draft comrade in Luka Doncic with 34 points on 18 shots and 12 free throws. For the Mavericks, Doncic led the way with a 20 point, 12 assist and 11 rebound triple double. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder forces Nuggets to earn road win, 99-95

After trailing by as many as 18 points, the Thunder’s second unit was able to make it a game as the Nuggets squeeze by with a win.

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell short of completing an 18-point comeback against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, losing 99-95. Similar to many other games this season, the Thunder trailed 13 points after the first quarter after the Nuggets got off to a hot start – but the Thunder were able to close the gap and make this interesting all the way through.

The Thunder being able to make this a close game is even more impressive considering the fact that this was probably Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s worst game of the season. 10 of the 11 players who touched the floor scored at least seven points with no one exceeding 14 points. This was just a very nice and balanced offensive attack from the team where everybody contributed and were able to overcome Gilgeous-Alexander’s poor shooting night.

Overall, this was a very fun and productive loss where a lot of the young players showed out and played well against a team that has championship aspirations. Let’s take a look at player grades:

OKC Thunder news: Darius Bazley, Tre Mann out of health and safety protocols

The Thunder welcome back Darius Bazley and Tre Mann from health and safety protocols, leaving Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as the only player left yet to return.

In a post-practice media availability on Tuesday, Oklahoma City Thunder interim head coach Mike Wilks announced that Darius Bazley and Tre Mann have exited health and safety protocols and were back in practice. The only player left in health and safety protocols is Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has also been in it for a week now.

Bazley and Mann both had extended stays in health and safety protocols. Both of them entered on Dec. 26 and spent nine days in it.

Wilks also said that Lu Dort, who has been dealing with a sore knee, was limited in practice again and will meet with the medical staff to see how he feels. Dort missed Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to knee soreness.

The Thunder’s next game is against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Jan. 5.

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OKC Thunder news: Thunder sign Rob Edwards, Scotty Hopson and Olivier Sarr to 10-day hardship deals

The Thunder have announced three 10-day hardship deal signings with Rob Edwards, Scotty Hopson and Olivier Sarr.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Monday that they have signed Rob Edwards, Scotty Hopson and Olivier Sarr to 10-day hardship deals.

The Thunder currently have four players in health and safety protocols — Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl — which means that the team had three temporary roster spots to fill as all four will be out until Sunday at the earliest.

Bazley and Mann entered protocols on Sunday while Pokusevski and Robinson-Earl entered on Monday. The Thunder played a game on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans with Mann, Pokusevski and Robinson-Earl all in the building with the latter two actually playing the game.

Edwards averaged 12.3 points while making a team-high 2.3 threes in 15 games this season. Hopson has averaged 6.4 points in 11 games this season, Sarr has averaged 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 14 games this season.

 

The Blue has now had four players plucked from NBA teams with the hardship deal as D.J. Wilson was signed by the Toronto Raptors last week.

This news isn’t surprising. The Blue run the same offensive and use the same jargon as its superior along with playing in the same arena for home games, so a G League to NBA jump would be as seamless as possible. Logistically speaking, signing internal guys onto the hardship deals made a ton more sense than signing outside free agents.

The Thunder are scheduled to play at least three games with Edwards, Hopson and Sarr with the first game coming on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.

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OKC Thunder news: Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins enter health and safety protocols

The Thunder have finally been hit hard by COVID-19 as five players enter health and safety protocols in the same 24 hour span

A day after the Oklahoma City Thunder had its first two cases of a player missing time due to entering health and safety protocols in Darius Bazley and Tre Mann, the team announced that three additional players have entered protocols in Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins.

With five players under protocols, the Thunder are allowed to sign four replacement players on hardship deals on temporary 10-day contracts. The Thunder’s G League affiliate — the Oklahoma City Blue — run the same offenses and use the same jargon as its superior along with playing in the same arena for home games. So a transition from the Blue to the Thunder would be rather seamless if the franchise opts to call up players from the Blue as their replacements.

The trio of Pokusevski, Robinson-Earl and Wiggins played in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with Mann also being in the building.

Pokusevski, who turned 20 years old on Sunday, played eight minutes. Robinson-Earl played 26 minutes. Wiggins played 32 minutes. Mann participated in warmups before being ruled out during the game.

With five players heading into protocols, it is fair to say that the Thunder are having a COVID-19 outbreak and join the long list of NBA teams with similar struggles in recent weeks. It is now a wait-and-see game for the Thunder to see if they have any additional cases before Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.

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OKC Thunder news: Tre Mann becomes second player to enter health and safety protocol

Tre Mann becomes the second Thunder player in mere hours to enter health and safety protocols.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced during the New Orleans Pelicans’ win that rookie guard Tre Mann had entered health and safety protocols.

This comes mere hours after teammate Darius Bazley became the first player on the Thunder to enter the protocols this season.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault mentioned after the game that Mann tested positive Sunday morning but started showing symptoms as the day progresses and would re-test again. Mann was a pregame warmup participant before being ruled out.

With COVID-19 plaguing the NBA in recent weeks, the league created a hardship exception rule where a team can sign a player on a 10-day deal if two players are in health and safety protocols. The Thunder meets this threshold for the first time this season so it is going to be interesting to see who they sign to replace Bazley and Mann.

The franchise’s G League affiliate — the Oklahoma City Blue — have plenty of options to choose from. Blue player D.J. Wilson was recently signed from the Toronto Raptors on a 10-day deal due to the amount of players they had in health and safety protocols.

It’s unsure just how many more Thunder players will enter health and safety protocols but time will tell since the team has a day off until its next game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Dec. 28.

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OKC Thunder news: Darius Bazley enters health and safety protocol

Darius Bazley becomes the first Thunder player to enter health and safety protocols.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have announced their first case of a player missing time due to health and safety protocols in Darius Bazley.

As COVID-19 rampaged the entire league, the Thunder have been fortunate to not have any cases this season. The team confirmed before the season that the entire roster is vaccinated — though it is unsure what that number looks like now with the booster shot.

This is an unfortunate event for Bazley, who has been great for the Thunder since coming off the bench. In four games off the bench, the third-year-forward has averaged 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

The Thunder are scheduled to play the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

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OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder get revenge in Memphis with 102-99 win

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies thanks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-Josh Giddey duo.

After starting the game in an 18-4 hole against the Memphis Grizzlies, things started to look eerily similar to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s last trip to Tennessee where they lost by 73 points. The margin of defeat wasn’t going to be anywhere close to that, but things were starting to look bleak in the first quarter as the Thunder looked lackadaisical and were struggling to generate points.

But once those opening sluggish minutes passed, the Thunder were able to get things going and make this a game by outscoring the Grizzlies by 14 points in the middle quarters of the game. The Thunder — behind the effort of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — were able to close this out thanks to his six points in the final 1:42 of the game.

It’s amazing what a difference it makes to have three of your four best players available with Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Kenrich Williams as that was not the case last time these two teams met. With the win, the Thunder now have a league-leading six 15+ point comebacks this season. As Thunder head coach Mark Daigneult said after the 73-point defeat, that game did not reflect who the team is and that was clearly shown on Monday. The Thunder wanted to see how Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey would play with both of them on the court more often and this game provided a glimpse as to what the future could hold with that backcourt duo.

Let’s take a look at player grades: