OKC Thunder player grades from the first half of the season
Dec 27, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) warms up prior to the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
That’s the definition of euphoria if I’ve ever experienced it (and I haven’t because [REDACTED] decided he didn’t want to show up in Games Five-Seven of the Western Conference Finals). So what. I’m still experiencing sadness/grief. And I probably will until the crows call.
But we’re not here to talk emotions. We’re here to review 15 basketball players, and their on-court experiences through 41 games of the 2016-2017 NBA season. Some have been good, very few have been great. Let’s get to work.
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Alex Abrines
Shooting Guard, OKC Thunder
B
I should have noted this in the introduction: grades are assigned based on a player’s talent/expectations. If Alex Abrines averaged a triple-double? Well for one I wouldn’t be writing this article because I’d be too busy crying of happiness. But more importantly, he would have an easy A+. If Russell Westbrook averaged Abrines’ numbers? F F F F F F F F F F F. So now you get the gist. When we look at the Spaniard Sharpshooter, we have to remember that he has the musculature of a 17-year old skater; there’s nothing there. His defense is all sorts of awful because he gets pushed around easily, and even on offense (where he is uber-confident) it hinders him at points. But the thing with Abrines is that we’re seeing signs of improvement, especially from his specialty. The 23-year old started the season 15-57 from deep, good for 26.3%; he’s now at 36.2%…for the season. He’s hit 27 of his last 60 attempts from deep, and there’s no sign that that production will dip. Abrines just needed time to get adjusted to the NBA line. If he puts on 15-20 pounds of muscle this offseason, Oklahoma City may have found the shooter they’ve always needed. Abrines has a high basketball IQ which translates to a unique offensive feel for a rookie, and hopefully that helps in the defensive end in the future. For now, Billy Donovan needs to just keep throwing Teen Wolf out there night in and night out because his potential is far too worth it.
Next: Steven Adams
Steven Adams
Center, OKCThunder
A-
Steven Adams has taken a huge leap this season. He won’t, however, get any sort of recognition for Most Improved Player this season because the scoring isn’t there. In all honesty that isn’t his fault. The Big Kiwi has upped his career scoring average from 7.1 points per game to a solid 12.2 this season. He’s still shooting around 60% even though his field goal attempts have increased by over 3 a game. There lies the problem though: an increase of three shots a game. When [REDACTED] left the Thunder had almost 20 shots a game they had to replace; you’d think the $100 million dollar man would have gotten more than 15% of those shots. Sadly that hasn’t been the case for Adams. He gets the first shot of virtually every game for OKC, and tends to dominate the first quarter. But they slowly drift away from pounding the ball inside as the game progresses. On defense the 23-year old has proven to be one of the best one-on-one post defenders in the league, shutting down Hassan Whiteside twice and Marc Gasol this season. But he hasn’t proven to be the devout rim protector we all imagined. Adams is actually averaging more steals than blocks per game this season (1.2 vs. 1), an ode to his defensive versatility. At the same time, you’d like to see your 7-footer get more than a block per game.
Next: Semaj Christon
Semaj Christon
Point Guard, OKC Thunder
B-
Semaj Christon may go down as the most complex player from the first half of the season. On one hand, he was a 23-year old rookie thrust into the backup point guard role because of Cameron Payne’s injury. On the other hand, he was a point guard who didn’t really know how to be an NBA point guard. Christon was at his best this season when playing with Russell Westbrook because he could put all his energy into the defensive end. He has the Patrick Beverley-style of play, but not the Patrick Beverley-skill…just yet. With Payne back in the lineup, Christon was recently recalled to the OKC Blue in order to get more offensive reps. The rookie’s shooting numbers were horrendous (34.5%, 17.9%, 47.4%) but he was very good at not turning the ball over. Christon was a scoring point guard in college, but he isn’t athletic enough to play like that in the NBA. Hopefully playing with the Blue will give him the time to work on his shot; if Christon can become a serviceable shooter like Beverley than the Thunder may not look as dumb for cutting Ronnie Price.
Next: Nick Collison
Nick Collison
Power Forward, OKC Thunder
A
If I set the over/under of Nick Collison points this season at 17.5, what would you take? Well the answer is under. He’s scored a grand total of 12 points in 65 minutes of play. Now this is no slight towards Collison, who has never been a scorer in this league. It’s just a fun fact. I love the Grandfather of OKC. He has become a pillar for the organization, and when he retires (hopefully after this season) he will immediately step into a coaching/front office role. He’s basically already doing that. Watch any Thunder game and what is Collison? Talking to a young player, discussing strategy with coaches, just being a darn good teammate. Than you have the fantastic photo of Collison and Sam Presti at a Oklahoma Sooners vs. Kansas Jayhawks game, most definitely scouting prospects together. Did they like what they saw from Josh Jackson? Is he worth trading up into the lottery for? Those are the type of questions reserved for only a couple players in this league: LeBron James and Nick Collison. At this point of his career, the 36-year old’s influence has nothing to do with his on-court performance but what he’s doing behind the scenes. Please Nick, use your powers and convince Mr. Presti to trade up into the lottery. I’ll come back and make this an A+ ????
Next: Jerami Grant
Jerami Grant
Small Forward, OKC Thunder
B+
I’ll be honest with you. I was so sad to see Ersan Ilyasova traded after a wonderful three-game stint with the Thunder. But after Jerami Grant dunked on [REDACTED] that all went away. Here we have a 22-year old with a vertical of a young Vince Carter and the height of an NBA power forward. When he goes up for a dunk it’s a weird mixture of grace/power/bird/lion. The last two are to emphasize that it shouldn’t be possible for humans to do what Grant does. The nice surprise with the third-year pro is that his game is more than just dunking. He’s become the only player on the Thunder who can play both small forward and power forward, the most important combination in today’s NBA. Grant has magically turned into an above-average three point shooter (38.9%) after being abysmal in Philadelphia, easily the best surprise in his first 38 games with OKC. But there’s still so much room for the Syracuse alum to grow. He has almost no face-up game, but every pregame is filled with Grant doing dribbling drills while other players are shooting. The roster is filled with young guys with holes in there game but Grant seems to working on those holes faster than most. In a season where player development is the most important aspect for Oklahoma City, Grant is taking some of the biggest strides.
Next: Josh Huestis
Josh Huestis
Small Forward, OKC Thunder
D
I meannnnnnnnn what is there to say about Huestis? He has yet to make an appearance for the Thunder, so technically he deserves a C if we’re playing 2K rules. 1) That is no fun to take the easy way out. 2) Any player that plays the same position as Kyle Singler but has yet to record a minute deserves a little punishment. Huestis has switched in-and-out of the D-League all season yet he has done nothing in practice to garner any sort of confidence from Billy Donovan. In 18 games with the Blue, he’s averaging 15 points while shooting 44.6% from the field and 38% from deep. Those are the percentages we need to see out of Huestis…in the NBA. The good sign is that Huestis is showing some development in his shot, but the problem is that it isn’t happening quick enough. A 23-year old first-round draft pick should be ready to play in the NBA midway through his second season, Huestis isn’t. Maybe he turns it around in the second-half of the season, but my guess is probably not.
Next: Enes Kanter
Enes Kanter
Center, OKC Thunder
A
Trying to figure out a grade for Enes Kanter was the hardest decision of all 15 players. Kanter is the offensive juggernaut with a higher PER than Stephen Curry, John Wall and Kyle Lowry. So why does he only average 21 minutes a game? The easy archaic answer is defense, but if you actually watch Kanter his defense isn’t horrendous like everyone makes it out to be. It’s not great, but it’s definitely not worst-in-the-league material like it used to be. The sad truth is that Kanter was built to play in the 1980’s, not the 2010’s. The 24-year old’s back-to-the basket game is not where the NBA is heading, leading to matchup nightmares when he plays power forward alongside Steven Adams. So the Thunder have resolved to making him a second-unit demon and that’s exactly what happened. Kanter single-handedly has kept OKC in games when Russell Westbrook leaves the court. It used to be purely scoring, but with teams starting to double-team him in the post he has added passing to his offensive repertoire. His assist numbers have gone up every month, and with Payne back that number is only going to keep rising.
Next: Joffrey Lauvergne
Joffrey Lauvergne
Center, OKC Thunder
B
I really like Joffrey Lauvergne’s game. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, but he also doesn’t do anything below-average. Need him to rebound? He averages around 3.4 in only 13.8 minutes per game. Want him to stretch the floor? In his first year consistently shooting threes, he’s hitting over 35% from deep. The problem with Lauvergne is that he is in a complete logjam of talented OKC bigs. Going into the season everyone figured Domantas Sabonis would be getting Lauvergne’s minutes. But with OKC betting on Sabonis eventually becoming a star, we realized that Lauvergne would be the unlucky man out. Because of his wide-range of skills, Lauvergne can play with almost any lineup on the floor. He can guard both 4’s and 5’s, score from both in the post and out on the perimeter; he just doesn’t get enough minutes for us to truly realize how good he is. Hopefully his recent lack of minutes is a play for Presti to sign him to a cheaper deal, because I really don’t want to see King Joffrey leave. Especially if they end up trading Kanter.
Next: Anthony Morrow
Anthony Morrow
Shooting Guard, OKC Thunder
D-
How fitting is it that on Anthony Morrow’s home page on ESPN, the highlight video for Morrow starts with a close up of Russell Westbrook? Seriously Russ deserves it, because Morrow wouldn’t have had all those wide open shots (that he missed) without Russ. Morrow the sharpshooter-the guy that OKC brought in three seasons ago-is all but gone. This season he is hitting under 30% of his threes, the first time in his career he has dipped below even 35%! In 16 minutes a game Morrow is averaging
Next: "Victor
Victor Oladipo
Shooting Guard, OKC Thunder
C+
If you follow me at all (and thank you I appreciate it) this will surprise you. I absolutely loveeeeeeeeeee Victor Oladipo. In fact he’s the only player apparel I have. So what’s up with the poopy grade? Oladipo could/should be doing so much more in this offense. Some of the problem is on Donovan and Westbrook for almost exclusively running plays through Russ. It’s like they forget they have a 24-year old former second pick on their team. Oladipo came into OKC having played point guard for the Magic; he was going to be the secondary distributor behind Russ. Instead he has basically become a spot-up shooter for Russ. In that regard he has been great; Dipo’s increased his career 34.7% three-point shooting to 38% this season. Sure he’s a solid shooter, but that’s not playing to Dipo’s strength. The former Indiana University standout is a creator, a guy who averages four assists a game for his career. But he’s only at 2.7 this season. That’s not acceptable considering he’s finally playing with legitimate weapons unlike his Orlando days. If the Thunder want him to progress into an all-star (which I fully believe he can be) they need to make him more of a focal point of the offense. You’re right in reading that I want the ball in Russ’ hands less. Look what happened to CJ McCollum in Portland. They already had Damian Lillard, but Portland realized they had a whole lot of potential in McCollum. So they waded through a season of gaffes for the sake of the future. Give Dipo more attention Billy. He needs and deserves it.
Next: Cameron Payne
Cameron Payne
Point Guard, OKC Thunder
C
I really wanted to give CamPayne (no I did not forget the space bar) an above-average grade, but I couldn’t justify it. He’s played four games this season, and none of those were particularly close. Payne’s stats aren’t great; actually they kinda stink. He’s averaging 3.5 points, 1.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds in almost 14 minutes of play while shooting 31.6% from the floor and 28.6% from deep. That’s a simple case of rust though. When it comes to the pure eye test, Payne succeeds on all fronts. The second unit finally has a true point guard to lead them every night, and it’s opened up the offense for those guys immensely. Payne is always looking to distribute, but he doesn’t waste precious seconds dribbling at the top of the key a la Christon. He looks much more confident shooting from deep, and if he can find his stroke the bench could become a formidable unit…next season.
Next: Andre Roberson
Andre Roberson
Small Forward, OKC Thunder
A
Imagine where the Thunder would be without Andre Roberson. Would Jerami Grant be in the starting lineup? Or would it be Kyle Singler? Either way, that shows you how much of a necessity Roberson is to this team. The 25-year old is playing out of position but he has looked just fine doing it. Roberson’s shut down the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and Andre Wiggins this season. But if there’s an elite point guard playing? Chances are Andre’s guarding him and not Russ. Roberson has made his claim as a top-three perimeter defender this season; leaving him off the All-Defensive team at the end of the season would be a travesty. The problem, as you all know, is his offense. Roberson’s shooting numbers have actually decreased across the board from last year. He’s one of the w0rst free throw shooters in the league (although it has gotten better of late) and he’s back to a below 30% three-point shooter as well. My favorite Thunder play is the Roberson backcut, but if he can’t dunk there’s a good chance he will miss the layup. If Andre could just finish at the rim, he’d be a $20 million a year-type player. But he’s not. And at the end of the day, that may be a godsend if OKC wants to keep him around past this year.
Next: Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis
Power Forward, OKC Thunder
B-
My feelings toward Domantas Sabonis change almost daily. Sometimes (particularly when he is rebounding and being aggressive) I love him. Other times (when he stands on the perimeter on offense and doesn’t move his feet on defense) I am not too happy with him. Than I remember he is a 20-year old rookie. Sabonis has been anointed as one of the building blocks for the future of the Thunder. His basketball IQ is out of this world and he has one of the best big men of all time as his father. He has gone from a non-shooter in college to a proficient NBA three-point shooter in the matter of an offseason. Players and coaches alike rave about his ability to pick things up on the fly. But through 41 games we haven’t seen all that we’ve heard. Sabonis is still picking up petty fouls by grabbing a player when they start to drive on him. He still is hesitant to shoot, even if he is wide open. When Domas finally realizes he belongs in an NBA starting lineup, that’s when his game will fully be unleashed. The thing is, he already has the talent to start in the NBA. We saw flashes when he put up 20 points against the Celtics, including a perfect 7-7 from the field in the first half. He’s starting to venture away from the three-point line and more to the post, a good sign for his development. I’m still iffy on an Adams-Sabonis frontcourt for the next ten years, only because Sabonis may not be a power forward in this day and age. But deciding his fate in one season-let alone 41 games-is the worst thing we can do.
Next: Kyle Singler
Kyle Singler
Small Forward, OKC Thunder
D+
There is nothing funnier than checking Twitter after Kyle Singler checks into a game. Thunder fans do not particularly like watching Singler play, but they still love the guy anyways. I fall in the same boat. It’s fun to root for Singler, but 96% of the time he’s going to make you upset with yourself for believing. Singler simply is not an NBA-caliber player, but he somehow convinced Sam Presti to give him a five-year deal so he’s here to stay. In 21 appearances this season, Singler’s only memorable performance came in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. And it was probably because I was at the game. He played like typical Singler, not making mistakes (besides a traveling violation) while not allowing his opponent to have an impact either. But the Thunder lost so it didn’t really matter. On the season he’s shooting under 40% from the field and under 30% from deep which is upsetting considering he looked like JJ Reddick during the preseason. Next season let’s all agree to make Kyle Singler the John Scott of the NBA; he deserves it for all the crap we give him.
Next: Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook
Point Guard, OKC Thunder
A+
There are so many things that Russell Westbrook does wrong on a basketball court. He shoots way too much (especially from three), he doesn’t give the greatest defensive effort and he complains to referees too often. But none of that matters. Because the human cyborg that is Russell Westbrook is averaging over 30-10-10 while leading the fifth youngest team in the NBA to 24 wins in their first 41. What he’s doing shouldn’t be possible for the hand he was dealt. The Thunder are on pace for 48 wins, only seven less than they had last year. THEY LOST THE SECOND BEST PLAYER IN THE NBA. Russ has single-handedly kept the Thunder relevant and I thank him everyday for it. I don’t particularly like Westbrook’s game, but it’s impossible to not respect what he’s doing. But in this second half of the season OKC needs him to take a step back. The Thunder need Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo to become more focal points in the offense both this year and for the future; ultimately saving Russ some effort on offense would hopefully increase his effort on the defensive end. At the end of the day Thunder fans need to reciprocate Russ’ effort and vote this man into the all-star game.
You’ve probably noticed that most of the grades are in fact positive. That’s because these young guys have impressed me this season. My motto for this team going into the season was 2020, but they’ve kicked that down to 2019.
If Sam Presti can keep all these guys around, the Thunder have something special. Everybody in the organization has an amazing work ethic, and they all have focused in on their biggest flaws this season.
All those emotions you’ve felt through the first 41 games? Be ready to experience all those again.
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