Tag: Theo Maledon

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: 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 quotes: Mark Daigneault, Theo Maledon speak with media following Friday’s practice

Here’s a list of notable quotes and paraphrases from Friday’s post-practice presser:

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and guard Theo Maledon spoke with the media following practice on Friday. The team is currently in the middle of enjoying a rare three-day break in between playing games. The last time the Thunder played featured a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

With just 16 games left in the regular season, the Thunder prepare to play its final batch of games as they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy quotes and paraphrased that Daigeault and Maledon shared during this post-practice presser.

OKC Thunder player grades: SGA ties season-low scoring output in 132-102 loss to Timberwolves

Out of all the games in Thunder history, that was certainly one of them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back, 132-102.

It seems like the Timberwolves have the Thunder’s number this season as they have defeated them by margins of eight points, 30 points, 37 points and 30 points. The final regular-season meeting between these teams featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having his worst game in nearly two months as his 29-plus point streak comes to an end at seven games.

As has been the case since the All-Star break, the Thunder’s defense just continues to slip in the defensive rating standings as they are ranked 28th in the league entering this game. The Timberwolves ended up scoring 132 points on 52.3 percent shooting that included scoring 101 points in just the first three quarters. The Timberwolves were also hot from deep as they shot 22-of-52 (42.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

This was just a really bad loss as it feels like the lack of NBA talent is starting to finally catch up with the Thunder in recent games as they have lost five of their last seven games by double digits that includes giving up at least 120 points in regulation in five of those losses.

With the Thunder currently dealing with a lot of injuries that include some being season-ending ones, it’s hard to see things changing from here on out in the last month of the season at its current rate. Gilgeous-Alexander has been supernova and arguably the best scorer in the league since returning from his ankle sprain and that still isn’t enough to keep games interesting — much less collect wins for the Thunder. Let’s take a look at player grades as the team prepares to enjoy three consecutive days off.

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, Theo Maledon speak with media following Tuesday’s practice

“LeBron and I see eye to eye in many things.”

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and guard Theo Maledon spoke with the media following practice on Tuesday. This comes a day after the team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday that featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continuing his streak of efficient scoring games as he scored 37 points on just 16 field goal attempts. The Thunder now prepare to play the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday as the team travels on the road to play in Colorado.

But first, let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy quotes and paraphrases from this post-practice media availability that featured Daigneault and Maledon.

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.

 

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.