Here is a Thunder VS. Mavericks Recap. The Mavericks traveled to Oklahoma City and took home a W. Despite the loss, we saw some more signs of progress from several young players. This article will go over the Thunder players who did well and three may even be a Mavericks player (who will it be?) This is the Thunder VS. Mavericks Recap.
Despite being the starter on this team, he’s not getting many minutes. He only lasted 16 minutes in this game and put up 11 points and one board on 4/9 shooting from the field and 3/6 from the three point line. Earl has shown a lot of promise when given good minutes. For some reason, he’s losing a lot of playing time to Derrick Favors and Mike Muscala. The good news is that he will garner more minutes in the future as he’s the most important player in the center rotation. Here’s to hoping Earl gets more minutes in the future.
This was a very tough game for Giddey. He put up six points (3/14 shooting from the field and missed all four threes), seven boards, four assists, one steal and a block. He also turned turned the ball over four times. Giddey is still one of the biggest stars in this class so this is just one bad game. On the season, he’s averaging 10.4 points, 6.7 boards, 5.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 bocks a game on 39% shooting from the field, 25% from three and 70% from the line. The percentages will work themselves out in the future but that’ll take time.
A Poku sighting has finally happened. He didn’t score a lot (four points on 1/5 shooting, 1/4 from three and 1/2 from the free throw line), but he did round out his line with nine boards, three assists and one steal and a block. Poku played 23 minutes as well so this is a step in the right direction. The man needs to be playing more minutes at a consistent rate. He’s only 19 years old so there is no reason for him to continue playing less then 20 minutes a game. Let’s see what happens after December 15th when more players are eligible to be traded. Once OKC stops playing their vets, his minutes should increase.
Maledon came off the bench this time but due to Lu Dort getting injured, Maledon started in the second half. He finished with a line of zero points, zero rebounds, two assists and one steal on 0/2 shooting from the field and 0/1 from three. Not the most encouraging line but his future will depend on the health of Dort. Expect Maledon to get another start while Dort recovers from a leg injury.
The man, the myth, the legend himself was back in OKC for the first time this season. Easily outplaying Dwight Powell, he put up 15 points, six boards, one steal and two swats in 20 minutes off the bench. He shot 5/6 from the field and hit 5/8 free throws. Thunder fans wish he was back with OKC but seeing him succeed with a playoff contending team is very nice to see. Over the last week, Brown has put up 9.7 points, 4.7 boards, 0.7 steals and 1.3 blocks a game on 62% from the field and 77% from the line. How Powell is still starting and how Willie-Cauley Stein consistently got minutes over him is one life’s greatest mysteries but hopefully Head Coach Jason Kidd realizes he has a very good player in Brown.
