Tag: Isaiah Roby

Thunder player grades: OKC secures crucial 120-101 loss to Lakers as Jaylen Hoard, Georgios Kalaitzakis show off

Jaylen Hoard and Georgios Kalaitzakis combined for 52 of the team’s 101 points.

Due to winning too many games for the first two-thirds of the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have put itself in a corner in terms of lottery odds and essentially need to lose these final two games in Los Angeles in order to keep its fourth-best odds spot. The team was able to complete half of that goal with a 120-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers who were missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.

It looked pretty uncertain if the Thunder were going to be able to lose this game as both teams fought back and forth for the first three quarters of the game. Ultimately, the backup Lakers were able to pull away in the fourth quarter and win by 19 points.

Much like the last few games, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault ran a short rotation of essentially just six players with just five of them playing over 15 minutes. Jaylen Hoard continues to impress and really squeezing every drop of juice out of his current 10-day deal that expires after the regular season ends. Hoard isn’t the only getting his money’s worth though as the Thunder played five of the six players who touched the floor this game at least 43 minutes with four of those five players being 10-day deal guys. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder’s two-game winning streak comes to an end in Utah with 137-101 loss

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s two-game winning streak comes to an end with a 137-101 blowout loss via the Utah Jazz.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s two-game winning streak has ended with a 137-101 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Thunder goes back to its losing ways as the franchise tries to keep its fourth-best lottery odds as the Indiana Pacers are just one game back in the reverse standings. With Tuesday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, priorities have shifted from trying to sneak into the top three lottery odds to fighting off the Pacers and keeping its fourth-best lottery odds.

The Jazz — who were without Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley and Royce O’Neale — were led by Rudy Gobert’s 20 points and Bojan Bogdanovic’s 37 points in a comfortable win where the result really wasn’t in question for the most part.

Meanwhile, the Thunder — where half of the players who touched the floor were signed just recently on 10-day deals — were able to produce quality offense and score with ease despite having more G League than NBA talent suited up. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder shifts focus to keeping fourth-best lottery odds with 94-98 win over Trail Blazers

The Thunder essentially won a game playing six guys with three of them on 10-day deals.

The race for the third-best lottery odds is essentially over as the Oklahoma City Thunder mount a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers once again, 98-94.

Things were looking great entering the fourth quarter for the Thunder’s lottery odds. After 36 minutes, the Trail Blazers had an 82-67 lead and were well on their way to a win that would’ve really benefited the Thunder. If the lead held, then that means the Thunder would be just half a game back from the Detroit Pistons currently for the third-best lottery odds. Now, a 26-4 finish to the game that saw the Trail Blazers score just four points in the final 5:41 of the game has Thunder fans focused on keeping its fourth-best lottery odds as the Indiana Pacers are just half a game back.

This win has deflated the fanbase to say the least, with a real shot at getting top-three lottery odds just a couple of weeks ago, the Thunder going 4-3 in its last seven games as ruined any dreams of that happening. The Thunder threw everything at this game to maximize its odds to lose as it only played six guys essentially with three of them currently on 10-day deals. I mean, Lindy Waters III, a two-way player, was pulled after four minutes as he scored eight quick points for Pete’s sake. There was nothing else that the team could’ve done to lose this game and the Thunder have great synergy throughout the organization has really bit them in the butt hard these last couple of seasons in terms of draft lottery odds.

It’s a failure that the Thunder will not be able to get top-three lottery odds for the second straight season during this rebuild and creating a program that brings the best out of its players has proven to be a hinderance when it comes to losing games. Let’s take look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: 110-101 loss to Pistons opens door for potential top-3 lottery odds

Top-3 lottery odds are back on the menu, boys.

In a must-lose game, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Detroit Pistons, 110-101. And just like that, the Thunder are now just half a game back from top-three lottery odds with five games remaining in the regular season.

Losing this game basically gave the Thunder life once again after its top-three lottery odds chances were put on life support following the team’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. But due to the Pistons’ upset win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, new life was breathed into the Thunder.

The importance of this game was clearly understood by both sides as the Thunder ruled out Aleksej Pokusevski and Tre Mann while the Pistons played Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey for just six to eight minutes each.

Ultimately, the Thunder were finally able to out-tank a team in the caliber of the Pistons and it paid dividends. Any hope on staying in the race for top-three lottery odds required this game to be a loss and the franchise was able to do that by only having seven players active by the end of the game.

OKC Thunder player grades: Lindy Waters III scores career high in 136-118 loss to Hawks

Former Norman North teammates Trae Young & Lindy Waters III each led their respective team in scoring as Waters III put up a career-high 25 points.

Wednesday’s blowout nice was a nice change of pace for Oklahoma City Thunder fans as the team was thoroughly dominated for essentially the entire game as the Atlanta Hawks defeats them, 136-118.

Unless chaos ensues, the Thunder are basically locked up with the fourth-best lottery odds for the second consecutive season. The Thunder are two games back from the Houston Rockets in the reverse standings with just six games left in the season. It’s not impossible, but improbable for the Thunder to catch up. But Wednesday’s 18-point loss makes that possibility that much more realistic as the Thunder desperately needs to lose most — if not all — of its remaining games.

In terms of the actual game, Trae Young led the way for the Hawks as the former Sooner guard finished with 41 points and eight assists. Young’s former high school teammate Lindy Waters III led the Thunder in scoring with 25 points.

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder finish in 28th place for March 21 to March 27 week

The 22-53 Oklahoma City Thunder were ranked 28th overall in @RookieWire ‘s latest NBA power rankings.

Rookie Wire released its latest NBA power rankings on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder move up a spot and finish 28th overall. The 22-53 Thunder went 1-2 during the week of March 21 to March 27 with losses to the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets and a win over the Orlando Magic.

“Thunder rookie Josh Giddey was ruled out for the remainder of the season, but another first-year player has stepped up in a big way as of late. Tre Mann scored a rookie team-record 23 points in the second quarter on Tuesday in a loss to the Boston Celtics, which topped his own record set two games prior. He finished with a career-high 35 points in that contest, surpassing the previous OKC rookie record of 34 points by Russell Westbrook.”

During the week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring and playmaking with 31 points and nine assists while Isaiah Roby led the team on the board with seven rebounds.

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OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder basically seals fate with fourth-best lottery odds in overtime win over Trail Blazers

With OKC two games back from top-3 lottery odds and the Thunder & Pistons both having just seven games left in its seasons, it feels like the Thunder is stuck with the fourth-best lottery odds for the second consecutive season.

Despite this officially being a win in the books for the Oklahoma City Thunder, this felt like a massive loss for the fanbase. The Thunder were able to mount a fourth-quarter comeback to tie this game and win in overtime over the Portland Trail Blazers, 134-131.

To call this a gut punch is an understatement. Considering that both teams had injury reports longer than the total players who were actually active in this game, it was pretty clear that both franchises saw this game as a must-lose situation. It’s just impossible to even understand what else the Thunder could do to tank; all eight players available on Monday played significant G League minutes this season with one of them even returning from a fractured foot. There’s literally nothing left that the Thunder could do to lower its odds to win games. Yet somehow the Trail Blazers were able to outdo them in the tanking category and manage to blow an eight-point lead late in the game.

Just scrolling through Twitter, this win is really hitting the fanbase hard and is easily the low point of the season. Which is completely understandable. The Thunder have had serious chances to get top-three lottery odds for a few games now and they just can’t get there due to costly wins against the Orlando Magic and now the Trail Blazers. It’s deflating to see the entire purpose of the season vanish in thin air during just a three-game span.

Now it looks like the Thunder will most likely finish with the fourth-best lottery odds for a second consecutive season. Which makes the rebuild that much more complicated. Congrats to players like Isaiah Roby and Theo Maledon, who understandably played their hearts out as both try to carve out NBA careers, even if it’s not in Oklahoma City, but man, this one is going to sting a ton. The vibes on Twitter are the same ones of last year’s regular-season finale win against the LA Clippers, where the Thunder shot themselves in the foot with their lottery odds winning a meaningless game in the grand scheme of things. So for the same thing to happen twice in as many seasons is quite deflating as the fanbase knows that the route to returning to being a title contender is with elite talent drafted highly. Let’s take a look at player grades.

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 players: The Thunder lose by winning its game against the Magic, 118-102

With a chance to attain top-two lottery odds, the shorthanded Thunder snap its 10-game losing streak with a win over the Magic.

Technically speaking, the Oklahoma City Thunder won its game against the Orlando Magic, 118-102. But in reality, this was one of the biggest losses of the season due to the reverse standings implications.

Thanks to a 10-game losing streak, the Thunder were able to make up a lot of ground and essentially lock up top-four lottery odds. The losing streak combined with the fact that the Magic and Detroit Pistons started winning games recently created a real possibility of the Thunder getting important top-three lottery odds. In fact, if the Thunder would’ve lost this game, it would’ve been tied for the second-best lottery odds with the Pistons after Detroit blew out the Atlanta Hawks.

Alas, the Thunder come up short of reaching the elusive top-three lottery odds. Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s over —  the Thunder are just one game back from the third spot with nine games left in the regular season. But for the Thunder to be so close to getting top-two lottery odds — even if it’s for one night — and to not get it is a tough pill to swallow for the fanbase who are tank enthusiasts.

In terms of the actual game, the Thunder were able to use a 20-2 run in the second quarter to claw back from a 13-point deficit and the team was able to grow a comfortable lead for the rest of the game. The Thunder were on cruise control for most of the second half and the Magic just continued to brick shots and play sloppy basketball when given the chance to mount a comeback.

The Thunder — who were missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander due to a sore right ankle — were led by the likes of Tre Mann and Theo Maledon for this win. The Thunder essentially played this game with G League talent and were able to win against an NBA team — even if it’s one as bad as the Magic. 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.