Vegas had OKC as a 1.5 bubble floor favorite in what was the Thunder’s first seeding game.
It wasn’t that close. At one point the Thunder led by as many as 29 points as they coasted to an eventual 110-94 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday afternoon.
Andre Roberson played but five minutes and didn’t score a point. He was not a factor in the game for one simple reason….Billy Donovan didn’t need him.
Billy Donovan didn’t need Terrance Ferguson either as he played only three minutes and change.
What Billy Donovan did with those minutes was give them to Lu Dort, Hamidou Diallo, and Darius Bazely… and the three youngsters along with SGA showed why they are the buzz about this Thunder basketball team and the future.
As was the case in the three scrimmages these three played smart, tough, and within their job descriptions.
Dort played suffocating defense on Donovan Mitchell. Bazely provided some pop on offense and an improved defensive game. Diallo contributed nine points and energy.
An interesting thing happened during the five month break in this basketball season. All three of these guys hit the weights, hit the practice floor, and have taken their games to improved levels. The three simply got better during the break and appear to be the Thunder future along with SGA and maybe Chris Paul if he can find some sort of ageless elixir to extend his career.
Six Thunder players scored in double figures. The perimeter defense was good. The three point shooting was fine even though Dennis Schroder has yet to make a three in any of the three scrimmages or in this game.
But in looking at the stat sheet this stood out to me the most…in twenty seven minutes of play Chris Paul was + 27. This is Chris Paul’s basketball team. He is the glue which makes all these guys play within their comfort zones and with apparent ease as well.
Why can’t Chris Paul be the Tom Brady or George Blanda of the Thunder for the next three years? Why can’t the State Farm guy be the Oklahoma City Thunder’s sagacious leader a bit longer?
Amidst a Great Depression, a bungled pandemic response, and a shameful non-presidential response to George Floyd…Chris Paul never flinched. The guy has ice water in his veins and uber high basketball IQ which rubs off on these youngsters of Sam Presti.
Is there some NBA rule which says Chris Paul has to leave Oklahoma City? The city BTW where he played his first two NBA seasons after leaving Wake Forest.
Next up the Denver Nuggets on Monday afternoon inside the bubble.