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The Thunder finally strung together a few wins following a poor post-All-Star break showing. They went 2-1 on the week, with two wins over the worst team in the league (76ers) and in the Bobcats a team that is making things right but not quite there yet. The one loss was to the Phoenix Suns, who are potentially competing for a chance to see the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. Here is how each player contributed.
Game 1: Thunder use late surge to stop Bobcats, 116-99
Game 2: Thunder barely need 3 quarters to put away 76ers, 125-92
Game 3: Thunder defense disappears in 2nd half again, fall to Suns 128-122
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JEREMY LAMB | Games Played | PPG | REB | AST | BL | ST | TO | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Average Stats) | 3 | 7.0 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.0 | +1.0 |
JUAN | ![]() |
What did I tell you guys about young guys in the Reggie Jackson portion? Ditto here. Jeremy Lamb is another guy who seems to be losing a bit of confidence, and the lack of minutes he's getting isn't helping. He played 13 minutes against the Suns, as opposed to Caron Butler, who notched up close to 30. Lamb needs to be out on the court more or his confidence might be lost completely. | ||||||
SHERMAN | ![]() |
Everything about Jeremy Lamb is on a downward trajectory, most significantly, his minutes. He appears to be the odd man out between Westbrook's return and now Butler's arrival, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. I don't know if Butler is a significant enough upgrade to be taking away minutes from Lamb, especially after the Thunder have done so much to make Lamb a part of their system. I fear that if Lamb continues this path, he's not going to have any role left to play and might as well pack it in for the season. Worse yet, I'm not sure there is much he can do about it. |
ANDRE ROBERSON | Games Played | PPG | REB | AST | BL | ST | TO | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Average Stats) | 3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -3.7 |
JUAN | ![]() |
Andre Roberson has to stay ready. He didn't get the nod in the starting lineup like he did when Thabo missed games earlier in the season, but he's just gotta stay ready to play. | ||||||
SHERMAN | ![]() |
A little more "Animal Style" in the 4th quarter of the Suns loss might have been nice, eh? |
TEAM GRADE | Record | OffRtg | DefRtg | AstRatio | REB% | TS% | PACE | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Advanced Stats) | 2-1 | 118.1 | 102.2 | 17.5 | 54.7% | 62.9% | 103.3 | +14.7 |
JUAN | ![]() |
The Thunder destroyed Philadelphia, as expected. They took care of the Bobcats, as expected. But they dropped a game out in the desert to Phoenix. The Suns were absolutely on fire and sometimes you just get outplayed by the other team, but the Thunder had plenty of chances to put that game away. The 23-2 run is unacceptable and that falls on the superstars and the coach. Even with that huge run and giving up over 41 to Gerald Green, the Thunder were right there to win the game. With the playoffs looming, these are the type of games the Thunder need to be able to close out. Phoenix might be the first team OKC faces in the playoffs. | ||||||
SHERMAN | ![]() |
As I've noted elsewhere, the Thunder have gotten into the habit of giving up 40 point quarters. I don't even know how this could become a regular thing, even against hot shooting teams like the Clippers and Suns. In the past, I thought 30 in a quarter was too much....heck, that 25 was too much. I've never been much of a, "each player has to look themselves in the mirror..." kind of person, but my goodness, there's gotta be some sense of shame to giving up 40 points to a bad team like Cleveland AT HOME. |
*All player images via US Presswire
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