Ty Jerome – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Devin Booker, Ty Jerome exchange jerseys and compliments following Thunder’s loss to Phoenix

Former teammates Devin Booker and Ty Jerome exchange jerseys and speak glowingly about each other after the Suns’ win over the Thunder.

Following the Phoenix Suns’ 115-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, former teammates Devin Booker and Ty Jerome exchanged jerseys. Both players carried the jersey to their respective postgame media availability.

“That’s my rook, man,” said Booker after the game as he showed off the signed Thunder jersey from Jerome.

“Booker is kinda like my vet. So I learned a lot from him on the court, off the court,” said Jerome with Booker’s jersey by his side. “Those are my guys man. … We’re still cool.”

Jerome was drafted 24th in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft and spent his rookie season with the Suns. That season, then-fifth-year player Booker had his first All-Star season: He averaged 26.6 points on 61.8 true shooting percentage.

Jerome spent only one season in Phoenix before moving to Oklahoma City in the Chris Paul trade. This is Jerome’s second season in Oklahoma City, and he has played sporadically as one of the older players on the roster. The Thunder have prioritized player development these last two seasons. With Jerome on the older side of the curve at 24 years old, he has played sparingly even if his talent and shooting justify a larger role. On Wednesday, with the Thunder already undermanned due to a number of players in the league’s health and safety protocol, Jerome started in place of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was a late scratch due to right ankle soreness.

In Jerome’s second start of the season, the 24-year-old finished with a career-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes of action.

The Thunder have preached the “Next Man Up” mentality all season long and as cliché as it is, Jerome’s performance exemplified that.

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OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder push Suns, fall behind in fourth

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to make the Suns sweat this one out as the team played mostly G League and two-way players.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have made it a tradition this season to stay in games that they have no business in staying in. Wednesday was no different but this might have been the most impressive performance of the season for the team. The Thunder were without six players – a list that includes Josh Giddey, Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl all being placed under health and safety protocols. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, who is also under health and safety protocols, also missed his second straight game and Mike Wilks was interim coach once again.

Meanwhile, less than an hour before tip, the Thunder ruled out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with right ankle soreness.

The only true starter the Thunder had this game was Lu Dort. Key rotation player Kenrich Williams only played seven minutes before spraining his right ankle. The rest of the starting lineup and rotation consisted mostly of guys who have been serious time in the G League or at the end of the bench all season long.

With all of these circumstances, it spelled a blowout loss for the Thunder against the reigning Western Conference champions Phoenix Suns. While the final score — 115-97 — makes it look like that’s exactly what happened, a 30-16 fourth quarter inflated the number and hid the fact that the Thunder made the Suns sweat all game long as the shorthanded squad even gained the lead multiple times late in the third quarter. The Thunder, on a second night of a back-to-back, had ran out of gas in the tank as tired legs quickly took over and the Suns took advantage and blew a potential upset open.

“I was really proud of our guys,” said Wilks after the game. “I don’t think the final score is indicative of how close it was.”

Let’s take a look at player grades for this valiant effort.

OKC Thunder news: Pokusevski, Mann and Jerome back to G League’s Blue

The Blue play on Friday and the Thunder play on Saturday, It only makes sense for the franchise to take advantage of that schedule by giving some guys some minutes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Thursday that they have assigned Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann and Ty Jerome to their G League affiliate — the Oklahoma City Blue.

With the Thunder’s next home game not played until Saturday and the Blue’s next home game played on Friday, there could definitely be a scenario where all three play the Blue game on Friday and get recalled in time for the Thunder’s game against the LA Clippers.

This is now Pokusevski’s second G League assignment in three days. The 19-year-old ended up playing in the Blue’s previous game and was subsequently recalled back with the Thunder.

Despite his recent success, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault mentioned that Mann was due for a G League trip, so his assignment should not be that shocking.

Jerome has struggled to get consistent minutes with the Thunder all season, so this trip is likely to give him some extra practice time and maybe some game time where he plays a lot more.

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The Thunder almost had another 20-point comeback, this time vs. the Bucks

The OKC Thunder cut a 20-point deficit to two but were unable to close it out against the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Not even the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks are safe from the Oklahoma City Thunder comeback attempts.

Midway through the third quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo checked out of the game with a 16-point Bucks lead. The MVP had just 14 points, but he didn’t need more; Milwaukee was destroying OKC on both ends.

But the Thunder inched back: a Mike Muscala 3 here, a Kenrich Williams corner 3 there, some excellent fourth-quarter defense everywhere. Suddenly, OKC cut a lead that had been as large as 20 all the way down to just two points.

It has been their signature. No lead is completely safe. Antetokounmpo had to play 36 minutes, three more than his season average. The Bucks ended up winning 96-89, but the Oklahoma City Thunder once again struck fear into their opponent, the same way they’ve been doing all season.

It wasn’t through their usual means. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a poor game, shooting 5-for-20 from the field and missing 10 of his 12 3-point attempts. Lu Dort’s streak of 20-plus-point games ended at five.

Even the Bucks’ stat line was unexpected. Antetokounmpo was just 6-for-16 from the field. Yet his line doesn’t tell the story, as the Bucks imploded with him off the court.

Mike Muscala was somehow a plus-14 in the seven-point loss, and Ty Jerome was plus-12 in 15 minutes played.

This game was lost by a few poor stretches, most notably the Bucks’ 13-0 run over the first 3:02 of the game and the stretch in the third quarter in which the deficit reached 20. For most of the night, the Thunder played well. They tended to prevent deficits from ballooning — several times, they cut a 15- or 16-point lead to 10 — and hung around long enough to make things interesting.

Over the final three quarters, the Thunder outscored the Bucks by three points. They only allowed 16 in the fourth quarter, three of which came off intentional fouls.

Head coach Mark Daigneault was not on the sideline, but it was a good performance. OKC held the Bucks to 96. Here are a few key aspects from the matchup:

Thunder grades: Lu Dort goes off for 34 points in OKC win over Rockets

Lu Dort’s offense is no fluke as the OKC Thunder took down the Houston Rockets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 101-89 victory over the Houston Rockets was a statement in more ways than one:

First, Lu Dort’s offensive outburst as of late is not merely a fluke.

Second, the Thunder’s intensity is much different when they’re losing and mounting comebacks than when they’re winning and coasting the clock.

Third, and most importantly: The Thunder are above the bottom tier of the NBA.

Now, that’s a rather anti-climactic statement, but it’s a meaningful one. The Thunder aren’t good enough to be falling by any “trap” games this season, but this had the makings of one: Oklahoma City recently won four games in a row. The Rockets are a one-win team but have talent at the center position that OKC lacks. Houston actually beat the Thunder just a few weeks ago.

But Oklahoma City didn’t fall for it. They put on the clamps early, taking a 12-point lead into halftime, then kept up the pressure, leading by 16 at the end of the third.

It was only then that the Rockets made their move, going on a run to cut the deficit as low as five. At that point, Dort came alive.

The Thunder would not have won the game without their defensive stopper’s offense. In the first 5:06 of the game, Dort scored nine points. In the final 5:06 of the game, Dort scored nine points.

As much as the first nine points kickstarted the Thunder — Dort had nine of the team’s first 11 points — the final nine secured the victory. After Houston cut the lead to five, Dort scored five straight points, starting with a 3-pointer made with 5:06 to play and then a pair of free throws. The Rockets pushed and pushed, but he wouldn’t let them take.

Dort finished with a season-high 34 points on 14-for-22 shooting, made four 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. He has now scored 20 points or more in five games in a row, three of which were Thunder wins.

And those wins are evidence enough: When debating over the worst team in the league, the Thunder cannot be in that conversation. They have defeated the Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans, both of whom are in that conversation. They beat the San Antonio Spurs, who have the third-worst record in the West and the same number of wins as the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons in the East.

Those are the bottom five and OKC is unquestionably above them. That’s nothing to gloat about at all; it’s a simple truth. After it was assumed the Thunder would be a bottom-three team in the league, they are, for the second year in a row, too good to outright tank.

It’s not worth celebrating, but “ringz culture” in the NBA has obfuscated the fact that fans are allowed to be happy when their team is unexpectedly good or unexpectedly fun. Feel free to be happy that Oklahoma City only spent about half a season as the worst team in the league. They have multiple good, fun players this time around.

Moving onto the Thunder’s grades for the Wednesday game. Dort gets an A-plus. Here are more:

3 Thunder goals: How Ty Jerome can begin to eye 2023 free agency

Ty Jerome took a giant step in his second season. He’ll need to force his way into consistent playing time on the Thunder this coming year.

Last season, Ty Jerome looked more like his University of Virginia version than he ever did as a rookie. With a year under his belt and in a system more conducive to giving a young guard playing time, he was a very capable passer and a good 3-point shooter.

That boost came at a good time because the Thunder have a player option on Jerome next offseason. It would take a massive shift for them to not pick it up. And in two years time, Jerome may be able to cash in.

But he can only do so if he forces the Thunder to give him a consistent playing role now, two years ahead of his 2023 free agency.

Here are three goals he should take into 2022:

Lu Dort defends Steph Curry for first time in Thunder loss to Warriors

Lu Dort defended Steph Curry for the first time in his career, but the Warriors star scored 34 points in Golden State’s win over the Thunder.

Oklahoma City Thunder wing Lu Dort got the first test against Steph Curry in his young career on Thursday.

It wasn’t the custom defensive performance from Dort. After picking up three fouls in the first quarter, he entered the second quarter at the 3:59 mark. He committed his fourth foul exactly a minute later and was subbed out.

As a result of foul trouble, lingering injury issues and the Thunder falling behind by so much so early in the fourth quarter, Dort only saw 22 minutes of play in the 118-97 loss.

“He battled through to play tonight, which I credit him for,” said head coach Mark Daigneault.

It’s surprising that Dort hasn’t matched up with Curry, but it’s true. All three games the Thunder played against the Warriors last season were before Thanksgiving. Dort debuted Dec. 6. And even if those matchups had been spread out, Curry was injured for almost the entire season due to a broken hand suffered four games into the season.

This season, Dort missed the matchup on April 14, a game in which the Warriors won 147-109.

He has put up impressive performances again some dominant offensive players, most notably James Harden in the playoffs last season, but Curry was a new test for him.

“You develop a feel for really good players. that’s one of the things I learned from (Andre) Roberson, he had a great feel for individual matchups,” Daigneault said. “Lu’s gaining that with all these players, but tonight was his first crack at Curry, and that’s obviously a really different preparation from any other player in the league.”

Curry finished with 34 points, 17 of which came in the third quarter.

Dort has minimal time to prepare for the next matchup against Curry. The Thunder face the Warriors again on Saturday.

Breaking down why the Thunder young core will have long-term success

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off their largest losing streak in franchise history and yet are in a great position for future success.

Due to careful cap maneuvering and asset management, Oklahoma City’s roster is loaded with tons of young talent. Since moving on from veteran players like Al Horford and George Hill, the Thunder have been featuring starting lineups younger than teams that played in college basketball’s March Madness.

Oklahoma City has some potential stars, especially in guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They can also potentially add two lottery picks in the 2021 NBA draft, which could perhaps include one of the stars projected to be available when they are on the clock to make their picks.

While the Thunder have a roster that is still fully in flux, and salary cap flexibility will make it possible for them to make bigger moves, let’s take a look at some of the players currently on their roster who have had success so far:

George Hill gives Ty Jerome his jersey after Thunder vs. Sixers game

Sixers guard George Hill gave his jersey to OKC Thunder guard Ty Jerome, who was hit teammate in Oklahoma City before the traded to Philly.

The impact that former Oklahoma City Thunder point guard George Hill had as a mentor to his old teammates was clear following OKC’s game against his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

After the 121-90 loss to the Sixers, Thunder point guard Ty Jerome received Hill’s jersey, which had been signed by the veteran.

On the postgame Zoom press conference, Jerome held up the jersey to show to reporters.

“He is one of the realest people I’ve been around in my short time in the NBA,” Jerome said. “Has a real good sense of life in terms of working really hard but keeping things in perspective. He was really helpful for me, especially when I was dealing with that injury at the beginning of the year.”

Jerome wasn’t able to give Hill his jersey in return, as the Thunder need to wear the same ones on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics in the second night of a back-to-back on the road trip, but Jerome plans to send one to his former teammate once the Thunder are back home.

On Monday, Jerome scored a game-high 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and made four 3-pointers to go with two rebounds and assists apiece.

Hill had just two points, but he tallied three assists, two steals and a plus-18 in 14 minutes of play.

This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Thunder tie franchise-record losing streak in turnover-filled loss to Sixers

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost by 31 points to the Philadelphia 76ers. With 14 losses in a row, OKC has tied its franchise record.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski threw the ball at the padding of the basketball pole in disgust. There was still 6:30 to play in the third quarter, but the Philadelphia 76ers’ lead had ballooned to 27 points after the rookie’s turnover led to a layup in transition.

Turnovers killed the Thunder in the 121-90 loss on Monday. The team committed almost as many turnovers (29) as they had made shots (35), and Philadelphia scored 35 points off Oklahoma City’s giveaways.

Williams, Pokusevski, Theo Maledon and Svi Mykhailiuk had five turnovers apiece. That group of four players combined for 12 made shots.

“Philly has great defense,” Williams said. “They got a bunch of long, lengthy defenders, got two solid big men, so it kind of made it tough for us tonight.

The defeat extended the Thunder’s losing streak to 14 games, tying a franchise-high set in 2008, their first season in Oklahoma City.

“I’ve never gone in the locker room after a loss and seen an apathetic group, and that’s a good thing,” said head coach Mark Daigneault. “It should hurt, and we should be disappointed, that’s a part of competition.”

With a point differential that grew as large as 37 points, Philadelphia was able to play all 15 players on their roster as the team got over its own four-game losing streak. No Sixers starter played more than 25 minutes, and Joel Embiid scored 21 points in just 23 minutes.

The 76ers shot 54.7% from the field and 45.2% from deep as the Thunder weren’t able to effectively stop anyone, whether star or rotation player off bench.

The only real positive for Oklahoma City was Ty Jerome, who scored 22 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3 and 4-for-4 shooting from inside the arc.

Daigneault said that Jerome and Darius Bazley, who had 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, did a good job playing through a game that got out of reach early.

“It’s interesting to see who can kind of weather that, who just kind of plays, and thought he did that tonight,” said Daigneault. “I throw Baze in that category as well, those were the two guys who really stood out in that way tonight.”

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