National Basketball Association

Oklahoma City Thunder: Five Positives from Houston Heart-Breaker

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:48 p.m. ET

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Dec 9, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after a play against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena.  Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

When ranking the OKC Thunder losses through the first 23 games, Friday night’s 102-99 loss to the Rockets was easily the one that hurt the least.

Losing stinks. Just ask Russell Westbrook. The OKC Thunder superstar (that’s right Mark Cuban) took last night’s loss especially hard, and rightfully so. Despite putting up his seventh straight triple-double, Russ had a rough night according to his standards.

Dec 9, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket in front of Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Russ finished the night with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists which are all below his current season averages. He shot 8-25 from the field and 0-7 from three; Patrick Beverley did a marvelous job on the 1/4 season MVP.

The shooting woes didn’t end with Russ though. As a team, the Thunder shot 42% from the field (4 percentage points below their season average) and 7-28 from three. When you’re playing a team with the offensive firepower of the Rockets, it’s going to be real difficult to win ball games.

Even with all this negativity, I came out of last night’s game fairly positive. The Thunder were bound to lose eventually, and it’s no small feat to hold a Houston team to 102 points. Remember, the Rockets just beat Golden State in the Oracle. They’re good folks.

So let’s turn those frowns upside down and look at the positives from last night’s loss.

5. Jerami Grant the Small-Ball…Center?

When I saw Donovan roll this out in crunch time of the fourth quarter, I couldn’t figure out if I was morbidly upset or ridiculously excited. I mean this a guy who did this…

And this…

AND this…

AND THIS…

…all in one night.

Grant is making it very difficult for me to pick who my favorite Thunder player is. The last two weeks had me leaning towards Victor Oladipo, than all of those ^^^ happened. But Grant is more than just a high-energy player. At 22-years old his combination of size, athleticism and basketball-first mentality is a perfect fit in the Oklahoma City organization.

With the Westbrook-Oladipo-Morrow-Roberson-Grant lineup, nobody can touch the Thunder in transition. Theycan switch on every screen, as long as the opponents is also playing a similar-style lineup (which is what Houston did).

Defensive rebounding became a serious issue when Grant was playing center, though, and that’s something Donovan will have to address if he wants to use that lineup again. Houston had 6 of their 16 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter; those extra possessions were a large reason for the loss

We’ve only seen this lineup for 10 minutes this season according to nba.com, but it does have a positive +/- rating. Not saying this should be a primary lineup, but in certain situations this miniscule-ball lineup could work well for the Thunder.

4. The Thunder defense played really well

Only giving up 102 points to the Houston Rockets is an accomplishment. Especially when you look at the numbers.

Dec 9, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets center Nene Hilario (42) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson (21) dive for a loose ball during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Rockets average a tick under 112 points per game while shooting 46.6% from the field and 37% from deep. Last night? The Thunder held Houston to 39% from the field and 26.2% from deep. And the aforementioned 102 points.

This all started with Andre Roberson. Roberson shut down James Harden for the second time this season; Harden finished with 21 points on 23 shots and turned the ball over eight times. The Rockets may have scored 33 points off the long-ball, but it took them 42 attempts to get there.

The defensive rotations were crisp, and there was always a hand in a shooter’s face. We’ve mentioned Jerami Grant already, but there’s a reason Houston only scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City showed the rest of the NBA that it takes sheer quickness and communication to slow down the high-powered Houston offense.

3. Steven Adams is BACK

Never mind Adams’ -12 +/- from last night. The rest of the starters were hovering around double-digits going into the fourth quarter, a quarter Adams was absent from. And as great as that small lineup was, it could have been better if the Big Kiwi replaced Anthony Morrow.

Adams put up a career high 24 points on only nine shots; he also made 8-9 from the free throw line. The Russ to Adams pick & roll was unstoppable, but it’s better if I just show you the end result.

Adams even showed off some post moves!

Look, this has everything to do with Adams’ switch to the black bandage. He’s obviously more comfortable wearing black, so the Thunder should be making a move to black jerseys in the near future. (jokes) (but not really because all black unis are clean)

In all seriousness though, Adams looked incredibly comfortable on offense last night. Clint Capela (a solid defensive center) had no answer for Adams, and Capela’s -14 +/- was easily the lowest on the Rockets.

The Big Kiwi has to keep playing like this. I’m not expecting Adams to put up 24 points a night this season, but the occasional 20-point night should happen more and more. Remember, he’s only 23. And playing his eighth year of basketball…ever. Eventually he will be an 18-point a night scorer, and last night was a sign of that potential.

2. Russell Westbrook’s triple double streak continues

Obviously we want a win over a Westbrook triple-double, but last night’s trip-dub was a little different.

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I’m happy the streak continued. I want Russ to be able to do something that only WILT FLIPPING CHAMBERLAIN has done. When you get into Wilt territory, it means you are doing something that shouldn’t be possible in this day and age.

Get er’ done Russ.

1. The Thunder are two games out of third place

Nov 5, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) watches his team play against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Just seven games ago, the OKC Thunder were sitting at 8-8, eighth place in the Western Conference. Now they are at 14-9, sixth in the conference, only two games out from the Rockets and Clippers. AND first place in the Northwest Division.

More from Thunderous Intentions

The Thunder’s six-game losing streak was going to end eventually, and a three-point loss to the Houston Rockets is nothing to be upset about. This is a Houston team that is 8-2 in the last ten games, including a five game win streak as of today.

The Rockets started the season with one of the worst defenses in the league, but have slowly climbed into the top 20 in defensive rating (19 to be exact). Mark D’Antoni said last night’s win was a sign that this team should be considered in that elite, and I’m starting to believe him.

If the Thunder can’t beat Boston than OKC fans should be a little upset. During OKC’s win streak they did not beat a team with a record over .500; it’s not a good look to beat the bad teams and lose to the good ones.

One loss shouldn’t throw away all that goodness from these past couple of weeks. Now onto the Celtics.

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