Tag: Tre Mann

Tre Mann set Thunder rookie record following second-quarter outburst

Mann produced his fifth career game with at least 20 points on Friday and made a bit of team history in the process.

Tre Mann produced his fifth career game with at least 20 points on Friday but the effort was not enough as the Oklahoma City Thunder lost on the road to the Miami Heat.

Mann finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of work as the Thunder dropped their eighth straight game. He converted on 10-of-19 shot attempts from the field, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range, to help lead the Thunder.

The 18th pick scored 20 points in the second quarter alone, which set the Thunder franchise record by a rookie for most points in a period. It was also the most points scored by a rookie in a quarter this season.

“I thought his decisions on the catch were really good,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought he was ready to shoot immediately and read the closeouts and really played off the catch as well as he has in a while. He got it going there and kept us afloat during that stretch of the game.”

Mann attributed the hot stretch in the second quarter to staying aggressive and being ready to shoot when the ball found him. He saw a couple of shots go in and that ultimately gave him the confidence to continue to shoot and take over.

He is in the midst of his best stretch of the season. Since scoring a career-high 30 points on Feb. 16, Mann is averaging 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 13 games. The team has given him a larger role as of late and the 21-year-old is producing.

The performance by Mann offered a glimpse into what he can bring to the Thunder. He is certainly still developing his overall game but has the tools necessary to eventually lead the Thunder on a nightly basis.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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OKC Thunder player grades: SGA, Tre Mann highlight 120-108 loss to Heat

The Thunder’s losing streak extends to eight games as SGA & Tre Mann combine for 51 points.

Considering this game was a matchup between a team with the first seed in the Eastern Conference and a team fighting to get the first overall pick, this outcome was the most likely one. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s losing streak extends to eight games as the Miami Heat blow them out, 120-108.

The Thunder were able to keep up for just a quarter as the Heat blew this game open in the middle quarters to make the entirety of the fourth quarter garbage time. The Thunder’s 12-point advantage in the fourth quarter made the final deficit look more respectable, but considering the Heat led by as much as 29 points, don’t let the final score fool you.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tre Mann were the brightest positives for this game as both scored over 20 points with the latter shooting the ball lights out in the first half off the bench.

For the Heat, it was a well-balanced scoring attack as seven players scored in double figures with sixth man Tyler Herro leading the way at 26 points.

This game was a reminder at just how far apart both of these teams are from each other in the NBA hierarchy. The Thunder have had a pleasant season considering expectations, but the franchise still has a long way to go to which the Heat’s levels. Let’s take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder blow 18-point lead, SGA & Bazley combine for 57 points in 134-116 loss to Hornets

SGA continues to play like arguably the best scorer in the league since the ASB in a blowout loss to the Hornets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue to search for its first win in nearly two weeks as the team falls to the Charlotte Hornets, 134-116.

After a hot start in the first quarter where the team scored 41 points and led by as much as 18 points, the Hornets were able to take control for the rest of the game and outscore the Thunder 105-75 in the remaining three quarters. This game continues the trend of the Thunder’s once top defense regressing to one of the worst in the league due to injuries.

Entering this game, since the All-Star break, the Thunder have the 29th ranked defensive rating at 121.3. Just for comparison reasons, the Thunder had the eighth-best defensive rating at 108.6 before the All-Star break.

The Hornets were able to swing this game their way with its outside shooting, as they shot 20-of-35 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Hornets entered the game as a top-five team in the league in terms of three-pointers made per game.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to play like one of the best players in the league recently as he collected his eighth game of at least 30 points in his last 10 contests. Darius Bazley also followed up a career night with another 20-point performance.

For the Hornets, Terry Rozier led the team in scoring with 30 points. Miles Bridges also finished with 27 points and LaMelo Ball had an 21 point and seven assists performance.

Overall, the defensive slippage in recent weeks was not more evident than it was in this game as the Hornets were able to score 102 points in three quarters with ease. The Thunder simply do not have the offensive firepower to keep up with that type of scoring currently — even with Gilgeous-Alexander being a nuclear scorer in recent weeks. Let’ take a look at player grades.

OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault speaks with media following Saturday’s practice

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault spoke with the media following Saturday’s practice.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault spoke with the media following practice on Saturday. The team is currently enjoying a rare three-day break before playing against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Daigneault said Thunder GM Sam Presti has a pulse on the roster constantly and that will play a role when it comes to offseason moves as he notes that the team is still learning about players like Aleksej Pokusevski and Darius Bazley.

Daigneault also said that Tre Mann’s status for the Grizzlies game is to be determined as he deals with an ankle sprain that he tweaked a little bit more during Friday’s practice.

“He didn’t practice today. We gotta see how he looks in the morning, to be honest with you,” said Daigneault.

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Rookie Power Rankings: Cade Cunningham showing out for red-hot Pistons

Rookie Wire takes a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2021-22 season.

With just over one month to go in the NBA season, teams around the league are looking to finalize preparations for the playoffs or look ahead to their offseason plans.

The league has seen several remarkable performances as of late with some rookie players joining in on the action. From Cade Cunningham to Moses Moody, the rookie class is reminding everyone that they could be perhaps the best in recent memory.

To make sense of it all, we took a look at the best recent performances of these first-year players and ranked them in the latest edition of the Rookie Wire Power Rankings. The rankings are not for Rookie of the Year purposes but, rather, to illustrate the best players week to week.

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 news: ESPN’s Zach Lowe features Thunder guard Tre Mann in latest 10 NBA things column

Tre Mann gets some national media love from Zach Lowe in his latest column.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe showed Oklahoma City Thunder rookie guard Tre Mann some love as he was as subject in his latest “10 NBA things” column on Friday:

“He has dozens of subtle tricks — hesitation dribbles, shoulder fakes, weird ways of angling his body mid-dribble — to keep defenders off-balance, so they can’t mirror his steps and momentum. He strings them together with predatory intent. He knows what’s coming, but you don’t.”

“Mann’s smart footwork has made him a step-back-3 menace; he’s 13th in made step-back 3s, and he’s 26-of-67 on them, per Second Spectrum.

Mann hasn’t gotten to orchestrate a ton alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, but he’s been dishing of late with Giddey out; he has 20 dimes in his last 5 games. Mann has the smarts to grow into a secondary playmaker on a good team.”

Lowe used a possession against the Sacramento Kings where he was a pick-and-roll maestro as he uses De’Aaron Fox’s knowledge against him and tricks Domantas Sabonis next in order to create an easy look at the basket for a cutting Vit Krejci.

It’s nice to see Mann get some national attention from one of the most prominent NBA media figures. The 18th overall pick has played great recently with backcourt injuries hindering the Thunder and has shown flashes of being a great secondary scoring guard.

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OKC Thunder player grades: SGA continues efficient scoring in 138-101 loss to Timberwolves

SGA scoring 33 points on 21 shots and the cleanup crew stopping a Wolves fastbreak are the highlights of a blowout loss

After a shocking road win against the Denver Nuggets, the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder returned home and returned back to Earth with a 138-101 blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Thunder’s defense was not able to stop the Timberwolves offense as they scored 108 points in just the first three quarters of the game. The Timberwolves finished the game shooting 54.4 percent from the field and went 22-of-47 (46.8 percent) from three and dished out 35 assists. The Timberwolves finished with six players scoring double-digit points with Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid leading the way at 20 points each.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues his hot scoring streak with 33 points on 14-of-21 shooting. Entering the game, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 33.5 points on 56.5 percent shooting in four contests since returning from a sprained ankle.

Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, not a whole lot else to talk about with this game other than to just chalk it up as a bad loss as the Thunder deal with numerous injuries as seven of the nine guys available all played significant G League minutes this season. Let’s talk about player grades.

OKC Thunder news: Josh Giddey wins February Rookie of the Month award

Josh Giddey makes it four-for-four in terms of Rookie of the Month awards.

The NBA announced its Rookie of the Month award winners for February and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey won the Western Conference award. Giddey has now won all four awards this season for the months of October/November, December, January and February.

In 10 games, Giddey averaged 16.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists. For the month of February, Giddey led all rookies in total rebounds and assists and was third in points.

Giddey recorded three consecutive triple-doubles from Feb. 12 to Feb. 16, joining Oscar Robertson as the only rookie to accomplish this feat in NBA history.

Giddey is currently out as he deals with hip soreness and has missed the Thunder’s last three games. Unless Giddey returns from injury relatively soon, his streak of winning Rookie of the Month honors is in jeopardy if he misses significant time with this injury.

Giddey was drafted sixth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Thunder. The 19-year-old has averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 54 games this season.

Thunder guard Tre Mann also received votes for the award.

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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.