Thunder Views: Corey Brewer, TFerg layups, and a Ray Buckets photo-op

When the Thunder originally signed Corey Brewer, it was a depth acquisition. He would properly fill that 15th roster spot with experience, length on the wing, perimeter defense, lots of running, and lots of smiles. Nobody was expecting anything crazy from the drunken dribbler. After all, he was a tenth-year veteran who had just been bought out by the lowly Lakers, right? Ahh, we underestimated the Florida Gator!

Ben Garvin

Brewer was OKC’s leading scorer last night with 22 points and 3 assists on 7/12 shooting in. He’s been in double figures 5 out of his first 7 games with the Thunder. Oh yeah, and he had 6 STEALS.

His impact since joining the Thunder has been undeniable. He’s made an almost seamless transition, and is helping in far more ways than we thought he would. Brewer has allowed the Thunder to space the floor more effectively in addition to drastically improving their transition game. He’s not really known as a transition player, but man, it looks like he and Russ have been running fast breaks together since middle school.

His overall defensive presence is doing wonders as well. When he signed with OKC, their defensive rating was hovering around 108.8. Since Brewer jumped on board, 102.5. That’s quite the impact for playing just seven games.

We could turn this into a giant love note to Corey Brewer, but since he was the spotlight in our last Thunder Views, I’ll do my best to avoid that. I’ve already written the previous 230 words about how phenomenal he is, so I guess it’s too late. But c’mon, if you’re a Thunder fan and you don’t want to talk about Corey Brewer right now, what the hell is wrong with you?

Spotlight

Terrance Ferguson was great last night in 17 minutes of action, scoring 12 points on 4/6 shooting. Most importantly, he brought energy off the bench in the form acrobatic layups, and who doesn’t love a slice of that?

Check out TFerg’s athletic ability on display once again last night:

Pretty incredible. Ferguson seems to go wild against teams from Los Angeles, so I guess we’ll just have to expect a freakishly athletic play like this next time OKC faces the Clippers or Lakers.

Not to take away from the highlight reel layup, but the best portion of Ferguson’s game on Friday night was his defense. He was matched up with the crafty Lou Williams for a few extended stretches, and the rookie did a really great job maintaining the Clippers’ all-star guard. He was disciplined, focused on his footwork, and managed to keep Williams in front of him at all times. I was very impressed to see his defensive improvements on display.

Quick Rumbles

• Behind all of the Corey Brewer chaos and acrobatic layups, Russell Westbrook quietly went out and got his 22nd triple-double of the season, finishing with 16 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.
• Steven Adams had himself a night as well, filling the scoresheet with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
• Paul George played on Friday despite exiting OKC’s last contest. He finished with a measly 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
• As you can tell, the Thunder really filled the stat-sheet last night. Raymond Felton and Carmelo Anthony each had 9 of their own.
• Speaking of Ray, check out this amazing photo of him from Friday night. He makes me so happy.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

• OKC has now won five in a row.

A Look Ahead

The Thunder now have two big road games ahead against the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. It kicks off in Toronto on Sunday night.