Tag: Lindy Waters III

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.

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 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, 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 player grades: SGA scores efficient 33 points in 142-115 loss to Bucks

After playing like a top 10 defense prior, the Thunder have been a bottom five defense in the league since the All-Star break.

The Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, 142-115.

Despite it being a 27-point loss, this game had the feel of the same song and dance for the Thunder this season where they make things interesting and stay in games they should be able to stay in on paper. Surprisingly enough, the shorthanded Thunder was able to keep up offensively — as the team scored 93 points in the first three quarters — but the issues came on the defensive side of the floor. This is now the third of the last five games where the Thunder’s opponent has scored at least 130 points in regulation. Since the All-Star break, the Thunder have had the 25th overall defensive rating. A stark contrast to the eighth-placed ranking the team has before the All-Star break. It seems like the lack of NBA talent and experience along with the general lack of available bodies have caught up with the Thunder on defense since the All-Star break.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way once again as he scored another efficient 30-point game. For the Bucks, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 39 points while Khris Middleton finished with 25 points.

Overall, this was a productive loss. Gilgeous-Alexander continues to score the ball like one of the best players in the league since the All-Star break and some of the young guys showed flashes in this offensive showing for a team that has struggled offensively all season long. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA’s 29 points, Isaiah Roby’s career night leads Thunder to 119-107 win over Nuggets

7 of the 9 Thunder players tonight played significant G League minutes this season

In its most impressive win of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered Ball Arena and defeated the previous six-game-winning-streak Denver Nuggets, 119-107.

There’s a reason why this game’s line was 14.5 points in favor of the Nuggets. The shorthanded Thunder went on the high altitude road and were down to just nine players this game with seven of them playing significant G League minutes this season. Meanwhile, the Nuggets entered the contest with a six-game winning streak that included a margin of victory of over 11 points.

But despite all of that, the Thunder were able to capture its first win in Denver since April 2017. And what made this win that much more memorable is the fact that it was an overall solid effort from the nine guys that were on the floor tonight. Sure, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way and closed this game out. But the rest of the team did its part and stepped up big time. Especially from guys who are on the third unit and beyond who normally don’t see action unless the team is dealing with multiple injuries like it is right now. Who knows what the future holds for the majority of the guys who played this game, but for this one night, this win really exemplifies just how in synch the entire roster and coaching staff is that they can play shorthanded on the road and beat a Western Conference contender with the reigning MVP.

In respect to this great team performance, here are player grades for all nine guys who stepped on the floor.

OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault, Lindy Waters III speak with media following Sunday’s practice

Mark Daigneault ruled Josh Giddey out for Monday’s game against the Kings and said he could miss some more time with a sore hip.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and two-way player Lindy Waters III spoke with the media following practice on Sunday as they prepare for Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The Thunder are currently enjoying two off days after Friday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

Daigneault gave out injury updates as well as talked about player development while Waters III talked about how his NBA experience is going so far after spending the beginning of the season playing for the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue.

Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy quotes and paraphrases from this post-practice presser.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA’s 36 points pushes Thunder to OT win over Pacers, 129-125

Plan A Shae don’t care about your tanking efforts.

The Oklahoma City Thunder leave Gainbridge Fieldhouse with an overtime win and a season series split over the Indiana Pacers, 129-125.

In terms of the bigger picture of lottery odds, this win hurts the cause as the Pacers are just now a half-game back from the Thunder in the reverse standings. With the opportunity to grow some distance between themselves and the field for the fourth-best lottery odds, this win makes things much more interesting in the final stretch of the regular season.

With Josh Giddey a late scratch due to hip soreness, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to play on his Plan A as the lead ball-handler and turned in one of his best scoring games of the season as he finished with 36 points on 13-of-24 shooting. Tre Mann also stepped up and added 22 points.

For the Pacers, Buddy Hield led the way with 29 points and had seven players in double-digit scoring.

In terms of the actual 53 minute game, it was a very competitive contest as both teams went back and forth without either really growing that big of a lead. The Thunder’s offense was humming along as it scored 92 points in just the first three quarters. The worst three point shooting team in the league shot the ball well from outside as the Thunder went 11-of-31 (35.5%) and also dished out 23 team assists. The Thunder finished with five players scoring at least 10 points. Let’s take a look at player grades.