Thunder weekly grades: Russell Westbrook, Enes Kanter, Anthony Morrow step up as Kevin Durant stays down

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The Thunder got a strong week of production from Westbrook, Kanter, and a host of role players. Which guys stepped up the most?

By Joey Conger Mar 23, 2015, 3:36pm CDT

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The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the past week with a strong 3-1 with a huge, emotional win over the the Hawks on the same day that it was announced that there is the possibility that Kevin Durant might be lost for the season. Which players helped step up?

Game 1: Thunder defense fails in 2nd half, OKC falls to Dallas 119-115

Game 2: Thunder outlast Celtics in shootout, 122-118

Game 3: Thunder overcome loss of KD, Ibaka, Kanter to stun Hawks, 123-115

Game 4: Thunder defense shines as OKC dominates Miami, 93-75

***

KEVIN DURANT	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
JOEY		BOOOOOO!! TRADE HIM! (Kidding)
SHERMAN		It wasn't good news to hear that Kevin Durant may be done for the year, but just because we all kind of expected it didn't make it any easier.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	38.8	27.0	8.3	13.3	0.8	3.5	6.5	+7.3
JOEY		The mental lapse that cost the Thunder a perfect week, costs Westbrook an A++ grade.
SHERMAN		So is a triple-double now the 'norm' for Russell Westbrook? It kind of is, isn't it? Only 12 points against the Heat? Come on, Russ. Seriously though, the one real sign for concern is Westbrook's declining shooting percentage, as his jump shot seems to be a wayfaring stranger these days.

SERGE IBAKA	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
JOEY		Son of the Congo movie was excellent, and Ibaka hinted at coming back early…again.
SHERMAN		Serge Ibaka may be out until the playoffs (fingers crossed) but in the mean time his documentary "Son of the Congo" debut, and it is a must see experience.

ANDRE ROBERSON	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	12.0	2.5	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.5	0.8	+0.3
JOEY		That awkward moment when your turnovers are the sum of your steals, and assists added together. THEN YOU GET INJURED.
SHERMAN		Sorry Andre, it's just your turn to suffer an ankle sprain. He was technically 'demoted' from the starting line-up, but hopefully he's taking it in stride. As long as his stride doesn't involve stepping on Dwyane Wade's foot.

STEVEN ADAMS	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	33.3	12.8	11.8	0.8	0.8	1.0	1.8	+2.3
JOEY		Excellent week, but I would've liked to see less fouls. Averaging a double double is pretty sweet. Then there were the post game quotes that Slater was posting on Twitter. Awesome.
SHERMAN		Steven Adams got beaten up a bit against the Mavericks, as they were able to overcome a halftime deficit by repeatedly attacking the rim. However, he bounced back well in the week, playing a huge role against the Hawks and Heat, recording 3 double-doubles in a row.

ENES KANTER	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	3	34.0	22.7	11.7	0.7	0.7	0.3	2.0	+0.3
JOEY		Enes Kanter, Destroyer of Worlds had a great week. The dude averaged 23-12!
SHERMAN		Enes Kanter was the other half of the porous front line that allowed Dallas to come back, but he made amends well by taking apart the Miami front line almost by himself, and recorded two 20-10 games in the week. He's Westbrook's primary target in the PnR, and he has overcome his injury well.

DION WAITERS	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	35.5	14.8	3.5	2.8	0.5	0.8	1.0	+2.8
JOEY		Say what you will about Dion Waiters, the dude can play. The step back jumpers may infuriate some, but the defense should talk you off the ledge. The Hawks game was a potential "Ah-Ha" moment, and the Heat game did absolutely nothing to disprove such a thing.
SHERMAN		The argument is being made that Dion Waiters actually plays better in the starting line-up because he doesn't have to go solo act with Westbrook on the court. While the two haven't done much together in terms of synergy, it has allowed Waiters to find some open spaces to get to the rim, and finally against the Hawks, he delivered.

DJ AGUSTIN	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	22.5	5.3	3.3	1.8	0.3	0.5	1.8	+0.8
JOEY		Solid ball handler, but I don't see him in any potential closing lineups due to size. Also, I'm really liking the chemistry of a Russ-Dion-Morrow-Adams-Kanter lineup down the stretch. DJ would be the odd man out.
SHERMAN		The nature of D.J. Augustin is finally emerging. He's a great ball handler and a solid 3-point shooter, but his size is an emerging issue because a) he can't guard anyone at that size; and b) he struggles finishing in the lane or hitting the bigs with lobs and entry passes. The reason why this is potentially concerning is because of all the injuries, which means that Augustin has yet to really find good chemistry with any of the other bench players.

NICK COLLISON	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	17.3	6.7	3.3	1.7	0.7	0.3	0.0	+9.0
JOEY		Way to go, Nick. You've been here 12 years. TWELVE YEARS. And you pick the point in time where we're now down to 3 post players to get hurt. Disgraceful, Nick. Disgraceful. Real Grade: A- Had 4 good games. Played his heart out against Atlanta.
SHERMAN		Nick Collison, ankle sprain. Yep. Great job against the Hawks though. He was getting burned early in their PnR game, but by the end he solved it and came up with a huge block on Dennis Schroeder.

ANTHONY MORROW	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	28.8	16.5	3.0	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.3	+13.3
JOEY		Quick story on Morrow. I went to the Blue game yesterday. Morrow, and some other players came out to socialize with their families and such. I'm sitting on media row, and Anthony is on the court, leaning against the scorers table. A little girl called his name and asked for an autograph. As the usher scurried over to tell her not to do such a terrible thing, Anthony waved her down, and signed 2 or 3 more autographs for kids. Morrow is obviously an A++ quality dude, JUST LIKE HIS GAMES THIS WEEK. Bam. Seguey.
SHERMAN		Anthony Morrow is one fired up dude. He's shooting over 50% from 3-point range since the All-Star break. Most importantly, Westbrook is constantly looking for Morrow in the corners, which means that Russ knows and is fully invested in the idea that he needs Morrow's shooting to win games.

MITCH MCGARY	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	4	16.5	9.0	6.5	0.5	0.8	0.5	2.3	+1.0
JOEY		Sherman is obviously getting over Lamb. That 12-15 minutes a night would normally go to Jeremy, in his mind (and mine). Mitch is a quality offensive big that will always have 20-10 potential. Solid week.
SHERMAN		My working theory is that Brooks needs to find at least 12-15 minutes a night to see if McGary has "it" going on. Against the Hawks, he didn't. Against the Heat, he did. And the result was a 14 and 8 with 2 steals.

KYLE SINGLER	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	3	8.3	2.3	0.7	0.3	0.0	0.7	0.0	-2.3
JOEY		I'm giving Singler a good grade. He sat on the bench for two games, and played well, when called upon. Hopefully, he can go back to the Singler that we traded for. Not this less athletic version of Perry Jones. Someone move his locker.
SHERMAN		From starting line-up to barely playing. I feel like we've seen this before.

PERRY JONES III	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	2	4.5	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	+0.5
JOEY		I just ragged on him, but great job by Perry Jones. Here's my theory with Jones. You play him against teams that go small, or stretch the floor. So, Atlanta, Golden State, Phoenix etc. he needs to play. If he can keep his guy from scoring 20 in the first half, and stand in the corner, I'm happy.
SHERMAN		Perry Jones goes from not playing at all to hitting a big time bucket and getting critical minutes vs the Hawks while OKC figured out a way to slow them down. Brilliant move by Brooks?

JEREMY LAMB	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	1	4.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-2.0
JOEY		:'(
SHERMAN		Apparently at halftime vs the Heat, Jeremy Lamb told the broadcast team that Westbrook would get another triple-double. Somebody needs to interview Lambo during every halftime break.

STEVE NOVAK	Games Played	MIN	PPG	REB	AST	BL	ST	TO	+/-

(Average Stats)	3	6.7	1.7	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	+0.0
JOEY		DISCOUNT DOUBLE-CHECK
SHERMAN		If you're going to play Steve Novak, then let him let it fly! There is little doubt though that if he plays more than about 5 minutes a night he'll either be the next ankle sprain victim or have to leave early because he's late for the carpool pickup.

TEAM GRADE	Record	OffRtg	DefRtg	AstRatio	REB%	TS%	PACE	+/-

(Advanced Stats)	3-1	111.7	105.3	15.8	57.3%	56.4%	101.4	+6.5
JOEY		Oh, what could've been.
SHERMAN		That Mavericks loss really hurts, because OKC could have made significant progress in catching Dallas for the #7 seed (are we actually hoping to play Memphis in round 1?) However, OKC responded well in back to back shootouts, and most importantly showed some defensive resolve in the 4th against the Hawks and in the entire game against Miami.


SCOTT BROOKS	Coaching Grade
JOEY		I'm going to quit commenting on Brooks. One minute, I'm calling for his job, next I'm saying he should win Coach of the Year. Who knows? Anyway, He keeps guys ready to play, which I respect. Pulling Perry Jones out of deep-freeze was also a good move. Brooks might be the difference in a 1st round exit, and a 2nd round exit.
SHERMAN		Scott Brooks continues to put his team in a position to win, despite facing a never-ending array of injuries. Yes, the Mavs collapse hurt because of how it happened, but getting that team ready to play on the same day that it was announced that Durant might be done for the year was no small thing. And now, they appear to be stronger than ever. Good job, Scooter.

SCOTT BROOKS

Coaching Grade

JOEY

I'm going to quit commenting on Brooks. One minute, I'm calling for his job, next I'm saying he should win Coach of the Year. Who knows? Anyway, He keeps guys ready to play, which I respect. Pulling Perry Jones out of deep-freeze was also a good move. Brooks might be the difference in a 1st round exit, and a 2nd round exit.

SHERMAN

Scott Brooks continues to put his team in a position to win, despite facing a never-ending array of injuries. Yes, the Mavs collapse hurt because of how it happened, but getting that team ready to play on the same day that it was announced that Durant might be done for the year was no small thing. And now, they appear to be stronger than ever. Good job, Scooter.

*All player images via www.usatodaysportsimages.com

Thunder weekly grades: Russell Westbrook, Enes Kanter, Anthony Morrow step up as Kevin Durant stays down

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