The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game against the Phoenix Suns short-handed. Today the OKC Thunder played without 5 of their top 6 scorers due to resting small injuries/personal. The Thunder were without Steven Adams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, Nerlens Noel, and Dennis Schröder. The Phoenix Suns were also facing some adversity as DeAndre Ayton missed his Covid-19 test and was awaiting results before he could play. Ayton was able to play in this game but missed the whole 1st quarter against OKC. The Thunder came out shooting very well in that first quarter as Chris Paul was getting whatever he wanted inside and out. Chris finished the game with 14 points and 7 assists against Phoenix. This was more so a teaching game as CP3 was helping the young core that he was playing with along the way. A couple of timeout breaks you can see Chris Paul going over to players like Darius Bazley and Lu Dort encouraging them while teaching. This whole experience in this game for the second unit and the young core players for the Thunder was big time.
OKC may have lost this game but it was good to see players like Bazley get some really good minutes and be able to flourish in-game action. Darius Bazley was the leading scorer for the OKC Thunder again as he dropped 22 points just 1 point shy of his career-high 23 from yesterday. The confidence that Bazley’s playing with has been obvious as he looks like a true veteran out there. The decisions that Bazley’s making with the ball have been spot on and it looks like he’s already in his sophomore campaign. Bazley has been able to score inside and outside against defenses and he gives the credit to his teammates/coaches for the opportunities to shine. The Thunder only had 4 players in double figures today and struggled in that second half but this was a game about growth. A lot of the young players that don’t usually get big minutes had a chance to showcase their talents. The Thunder took advantage of the paint in that first quarter without Ayton in the game and then he was able to make his presence known. The Thunder defended Devin Booker very well but they weren’t able to get away from the foul calls throughout the game.
Devin Booker put the Phoenix Suns on his back just like he’s done this whole time in Orlando. ESPN rated Devin Booker the 31st player in the bubble and they were extremely off with that. The way that Devin Booker has played in the bubble has been nothing less of spectacular. Devin Booker’s a top 15 player in the bubble and that’s no debate. Tonight the Thunder were doubling Booker and throwing multiple bodies at him just to try and slow him down. Devin Booker was guarded everywhere he went by Lu Dort, Hamidou Diallo, Andre Roberson, and Abdel Nader. Booker was making some ridiculous shots against some tough defense and he was able to get to the line like the best of them. Devin Booker’s 35 points was a game-high and just showed what he’s willing to do to get to the playoffs. Booker was able to drop his game-high in only 29 minutes tonight and didn’t have to do much to anything in the 4th. Booker was leading the way for the Suns but he had help as well because 5 players other than Booker were in double figures. Cam Johnson and Dario Saric both combined for 36 points to help Booker and it seemed as though Phoenix was able to get any loose ball and made big shots when it mattered. The Phoenix Suns will be trying to get to 7-0 as they will face off against the Sixers on Tuesday without Simmons or Embiid.
The OKC Thunder will be playing against the Miami Heat on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.
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