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Thunder player grades from 121-110 win in New Orleans

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:34 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Tony Heim/FanSided via Thunderous Intentions

Dec 21, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dances as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) walks away during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans 121-110. Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The OKC Thunder bounced back from a controversial loss to the Hawks Monday night to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 121-110. Let’s dish out some player grades in celebration.

If you’re an avid Thunderous Intentions reader (which I highly suggest if you’re not), you know I’ve stepped away from the analytical pieces the past few days. I had a nice little sojourn in Oklahoma City, and it was more important for me to document that wonderful place.

Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

But now I’m back in Cincinnati. And it’s time to get back to Thunder basketball.

Wednesday night was a really good win for the Thunder; who cares if it was against the Pelicans? The bench played extremely well for the second game in a row, especially Alex Abrines and Joffrey Lauvergne (hint hint).

Russell Westbrook put up another monstrous stat line: 42-10-7 en route to the Thunder’s 17th win of the season.

Oklahoma City’s defense was rough again without Victor Oladipo, but the offense was feeling themselves more than Beyonce.

Enough of the summarizing. Let’s take a look at all ten guys who recorded minutes tonight, and how they impacted the game.

Alex Abrines

Shooting Guard, OKCThunder

A+++IT’S THE ALEX ABRINES BREAKOUT GAME. If it wasn’t so visually unappealing I would write this entire segment in all caps. I love Alex Abrines more than anyone else I know, and tonight only increased those sentiments. The Spaniard sharpshooter went for a career high 18 points tonight on 6-12 shooting, including 5-11 from deep. THIS is what we expected when the Thunder brought him over from FC Barcelona. Abrines has never been afraid to shoot the ball, but tonight may be a turning point in his rookie season. After the game, Russell Westbrook said that Alex can “shoot the piss out of the ball” so obviously he has had these type of moments in practice. But doing this in an actual game has to raise his confidence. Abrines even played some solid defense tonight, deflecting a few Pelicans passes that resulted in Thunder steals. If this is the springboard into the Alex Abrines era in OKC, the rest of the NBA better be worried.Next: Steven Adams

Steven Adams

Center, OKC Thunder

DAdams has got to be one of the most confusing players on the Thunder. Two games ago he played brilliantly against the Suns, but since than the Big Kiwi has looked lost on the court. Adams got torched by Anthony Davis tonight, but that’s not why he gets docked tonight. It has more to do with the 23-year old’s lack of energy. In 23 minutes the Thunder center only recorded four rebounds but accrued four fouls. He didn’t have the same spark that we have grown accustomed too, and that was highlighted by the jump ball he gave up to 6’1 Tim Frazier in the fourth quarter. On the bright side, Adams flashed the fantastic passing ability for a young center tonight. He hit Andre Roberson on a couple beautiful backdoor cuts, and finished with three assists on the night. The Thunder are 6-3 when Adams takes double-digit shots; Adams took 11 tonight. They have to keep working the ball downlow to him because it opens up the rest of the offense so much.Next: Semaj Christon

Semaj Christon

Point Guard, OKC Thunder

A-What if I told you the Thunder outscored the Pelicans by over a point a minute when Semaj was on the court? Well that was the case tonight, as Christon finished with a +/- of +15 in his 14 minutes of play. The reason why the bench played so well tonight was because Semaj was getting the second unit into actual sets…they looked like a real basketball team for once! Christon finished with five assists and zero turnovers..so why the A-? As great as Christon was at distributing tonight, his seven shots (including two missed threes) were more than you want to see from him in only 14 minutes. The rookie was a scorer in college, but he’s at his best in the NBA when he’s playing as a pure point guard. Christon’s most efficient in the paint, and we saw that tonight when he went 3-4 in that area. If Christon cuts back on the contested jumpers, he will be a much better player for OKC.Next: Jerami Grant

Jerami Grant

Small Forward, OKC Thunder

C+Grant played 21 minutes tonight, and it was a pretty uninspiring performance. He did some good things (make his only field goal attempt and record two blocks) but overall he didn’t have much of an impact on the game. The 22-year old had the lowest +/- of any of the bench players tonight at +2, but that’s because he was mostly playing with the starters. It’s not that Grant played poorly tonight, he just wasn’t all that active. Grant is the type of player that is either going to impact a game heavily or basically be invisible on the court. As he continues to hone his shooting (he’s shooting 44.4% from three since coming to OKC) Grant will see his influence increase because he is the Thunder’s only true 3-and-D player. Jerami will never be a star in this league, but he can be a perfect side piece on a championship contender if he keeps working on his shot and add a few more pounds.Next: Enes Kanter

Enes Kanter

Center, OKC Thunder

AWhoever Kanter ends up getting traded to (assuming he does get traded) is going to get one heck of a player. Kanter finished tonight with 14 points and 14 rebounds in 34 minutes as he basically took all of Domantas Sabonis’ minutes. The Pelicans had no answer for Kanter on the offensive glass; the Turkish big recorded five offensive boards. Like Christon though, there was one flaw in the 24-year old’s game tonight: his passing, or lack thereof. Enes’ offensive skillset is so advanced that teams HAVE to double him in the post in order to stop him. The problem is a double-team doesn’t stop Kanter from putting up shots when he gets fed down low. He missed a wide open Alex Abrines a few times, and turned the ball over twice when he had an easy pass to the perimeter. Kanter finished with one assist, but easily could have had four if he kept his head up. I’m nit-picking here though, the kid played a great game tonight.Next: Joffrey Lauvergne

Joffrey Lauvergne

Center, OKC Thunder

A+It may seem like I’m just throwing away A’s like crazy, and that’s because I am. If you notice all these spectacular grades are going to the second unit it’s because the second unit played INCREDIBLE. The five non-starters combined for a +61 +/- tonight; that’s unheard of for this team. A lot of this has to do with the Lauvergne/Kanter frontcourt combo. I tweeted it during the game, but I think that combo is better than the Adams/Sabonis combo at this moment of time. Lauvergne is an incredibly smart player, and he always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. In 25 minutes King Joffrey stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Oh and he led the Thunder with a +20 while on the court. Billy has been spotty with his playtime of Joffrey all season, but I truly think he needs to be playing at least 20 minutes a night.Next: Anthony Morrow

Anthony Morrow

Shooting Guard, OKC Thunder

C-Morrow could have had a bigger impact tonight if it weren’t for the Alex Abrines show. Although he started, the 31-year old only played 18 minutes on the night. He finished with 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from deep), 1 rebound and 2 steals; like Grant he was virtually invisible on the night. If Morrow isn’t hitting shots he is useless for lack of a better word. Personally I would rather see Abrines in the starting lineup over Morrow because he plays harder, is a better passer and has a much much much higher ceiling in the long run. Morrow is better suited for the bench because he can help calm down the younger players when they start to play poorly, plus it allows the Spaniard sharpshooter to get more playing time with Russ. Maybe I’m being too much of a fanboy, but dang I really love Abrines.Next: Andre Roberson

Andre Roberson

Swiss Army Knife, OKC Thunder

A-The lowkey MVP strikes again! If it feels like I start every Roberson grade with that saying, it’s because I do. It’s going to be so sad when a team offers Andre a contract that the Thunder simply can’t match; he’s so important to this team. Yeah Andre can’t shoot, but his backcutting ability does so much for the OKC offense. The next step in Andre’s game, however, will be to start finishing on those beautiful backcuts that he has perfected. Roberson finished the night with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block; exactly what the Thunder needed tonight. After Jrue Holliday torched Russell Westbrook for 14 points in the first half, Roberson was tasked with guarding Holliday in the second half. That minor move disrupted the Pelicans offense just enough to allow the Thunder to open up a double digit lead to start the fourth quarter. There’s a reason why ROberson was the only starter with a positive +/- tonight. Ugh I pray they can keep him.Next: Domantas Sabonis

Domantas Sabonis

Power Forward, OKC Thunder

D-I’m beginning to have serious worries about Domas the power forward. The more I watch him, the more I think he is better off suited as a small-ball stretch five. Every time he gets caught guarding someone on the perimeter it results in a foul, and it’s directly because he can’t stay in front of more athletic players. There’s no denying Sabonis’ talents, but when he has to guard someone like Anthony Davis it gets scart quickly. Even Terrance Jones had his way with Domas tonight. Sabonis only played 12 minutes, finsihing with 3 points, 4 rebounds and 3 fouls. The four rebounds looks promising, but they fell in his lap instead of Domas actually fighting for them. He’s a rookie, and all of his faults are the typical rookie problems. In the long run we will see just how good Sabonis is, it’s just going to be a bumpy road to get there.Next: Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook

Point Guard, OKC Thunder

The exponential rise of the Thunder bench is a fantastic sign for OKC, even if it was against New Orleans. With Oladipo still out, the second unit will have to continue to step up if the Thunder want to stay afloat during his absence.

Oklahoma City will face a much greater test Friday night when they travel to Boston for a showdown with the Celtics. Come back to thunderousintentions.com for features, analysis and much much more as you wait for the Thunder to take the court again.

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