Olivier Sarr – Page 2 – Syndication Server

2021-22 Thunder player grades: Olivier Sarr

Handing out a final grade for Oklahoma City Thunder center Olivier Sarr’s 2021-22 regular season.

(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

With the 2021-22 regular season now officially in the books, the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-58) finished their season with the fourth-best lottery odds. This means it is now time for individual player grades for all 26 players who suited up for the team this season during the 82 games. The grades will be determined by what the season expectations were for each player and how they lived up to them.

The seventeenth player in the installment is Olivier Sarr, whose Thunder stint lasted just 22 games before being waived.

OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault explains why the team moved on from Olivier Sarr

The release of Olivier Sarr raised some eyebrows among the Thunder fanbase.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault explained why the team decided to move on from Olivier Sarr despite collecting a 24-point performance in a win against the Phoenix Suns. Sarr was released in order for the team to make room to add Melvin Frazier Jr. on a two-way spot on Wednesday.

Before Wednesday’s loss to the Utah Jazz, Daigneault explained that cycling through G League players was always the plan for one of the two-way spots but Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s foot injury derailed that plan due to a lack of centers on the roster.

“We were planning on cycling the spot when we signed Sarr. … Frazier’s a guy we wanna reward with an opportunity,” said Daigneault. “We wanna take care of guys who take care of us.”

Of course, a more sinister explanation could be that the team decided to move on from Sarr because he’s playing too well and hurting their bid to tank games. Considering Sarr is an undrafted rookie, the chances he pans out to be a legit NBA player are slim to none. So the team moved on to preserve the tank.

The timing of this release certainly doesn’t help debunk this theory. Sarr just finished helping the team get wins over the Suns and Portland Trail Blazers. But according to Daigneault, that theory wasn’t the case. Then again, expecting Daigneault to publicly say that they waived Sarr to make the team worse is unrealistic.

What a fan believes is the actual reason Sarr was released depends on how much they think the team is committed to tanking. The real answer is probably somewhere in the middle where the team thought it was time to move on from Sarr and give other guys such as Frazier Jr. an opportunity as well as helping the tank by bringing in someone who will not effect the game as much as Sarr did.

Sarr finished his rookie season averaging seven points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games.

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OKC Thunder news: Melvin Frazier Jr. signed to two-way deal, Olivier Sarr released

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, Olivier Sarr was released.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, the Thunder released Olivier Sarr. The two two-way players on the roster now are Lindy Waters III and Frazier Jr.

Frazier Jr. has appeared in 29 NBA games over his career with 1.9 points averaged. Meanwhile, Sarr averaged seven points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games this season.

With just three games left in the regular season, the Thunder have made a series of roster moves recently that included signing three players to 10-day hardship deals that will keep them on the team for the remainder of the season in Jaylen Hoard, Georgios Kalaitzakis and Zavier Simpson.

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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.

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: SGA scores another efficient 30-point game in 116-103 loss to Jazz

SGA continues to play like arguably the best player in the league since the All-Star Break.

The fourth quarter really changed the perception of this game. It looked like the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to be handed a second straight blowout loss against a northwest divisional for at home by the Utah Jazz as they trailed by as much as 23 points. The final score of the game was 116-103 and considering how bleak things were looking for the majority of the game, the Thunder should be appreciative of their effort and a final push to make this game competitive near the end.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was great once again as he finished with 33 points on 23 shots and 12 trips to the free-throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the best players in the league since the All-Star Break due to his high-scoring, high-efficiency streak of games he is currently on.

The Jazz shot the ball like one would expect the top offensive rating team to shoot it as the team went 23-of-52 (44.2 percent) from three this game. This included Bojan Bogdanovic making a career-high 11 threes this game as he finished with 35 points. Donovan Mitchell finished with 24 points and 10 assists while Rudy Gobert finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson added 20 points.

Overall, the Thunder turned what could’ve been a second straight blowout loss to a respectable double digit loss with its fourth quarter efforts. This is a sign of a well coached team that the players — especially in the Thunder’s case where they are currently shorthanded and forced to play multiple G League guys heavy minutes — are able to stay within the game and not let the scoreboard discourage its performance. 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 player grades: SGA scores 37 points on 16 shots in loss to Kings

SGA has another high-efficient 30+ point game as the Thunder lose to the Kings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Sacramento Kings, 131-110, in Monday’s game against two teams in the bottom of the standings.

Even with the loss, it’s hard not to be mesmerized by another elite scoring game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he finished with 37 points on 16 shots. Since returning from his ankle sprain, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 105 points on 62 shots. This has easily been the best scoring stretch of Gilgeous-Alexander’s season and arguably of his career.

Now while the final score indicts a 21-point blowout, this was actually a close game for most of the contest as it went into halftime tied up at 59 apiece. The Kings were able to use a 72-point second half to blow this game open and create a significant enough lead to put this one away.

De’Aaron Fox led the way with 29 points while Harrison Barnes’ 23 points and Trey Lyles’ 24 points helped out as well. Former Thunder rookie Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.

Overall, the Thunder defense wasn’t really there this game like it is most and the Kings were able to get anything they wanted pretty easily, especially in the second half. Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, not a ton to be too impressed with outside of the fact that some of the bottom roster guys were able to contribute and that this loss helps out the reverse standings tremendously. Let’s take a look at player grades.