Player grades from Thunder’s season-opening loss to Jazz

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was back in the lineup, but the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 107-86 loss to the Utah Jazz to open the 2021-22 year looked more like the second half of last season than the first.

The Thunder were out of sync, struggled to make 3s and were dominated by Jazz star Rudy Gobert.

Donovan Mitchell scored just two points in the first half, but Gobert took over against the Thunder’s smaller center rotation. He beat former teammate Derrick Favors, and Isaiah Roby didn’t provide any more pressure when he checked in off the bench. Gobert finished with 16 points and 21 rebounds in 29 minutes of play.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points, but he was just 1-for-7 from 3. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was the only OKC player who made multiple shots from behind the arc, and as a team, the Thunder went 7-for-34 from deep. The starting lineup was 3-for-20 from 3.

It was a poor start for the Thunder, even by the standards of a team that is expected to spend the year developing and evaluating its young players and preparing more for the draft than any playoff chances.

Here are player grades for the opener:

Lu Dort: B

His first half alone was an A. He scored five of the Thunder’s 18 first-quarter points and made a 3, and more importantly, he played stifling defense on Donovan Mitchell. An early Mitchell turnover thanks to pressure by Dort portended a hellacious first half in which the Jazz star scored just two points, which came off an offensive rebound.

That flipped in the second half. Dort lost his shot, finishing the game 2-for-10 from the field while struggling to make baskets at the rim and from deep alike. Mitchell caught on fire during a third quarter in which Utah scored 29 points and found their offensive rhythm, putting the game out of reach before the fourth quarter could begin.

One more positive about the defense: Mitchell attempted only one free throw.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C

Oct 20, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots the ball against the Utah Jazz during the third quarter at Vivint Arena. Utah Jazz won 107-86. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of last year. The Thunder star struggled to find space both from deep and when driving to the line, resulting in a shooting line of 7-for-17 from the field and 1-for-7 from deep.

Yet there were some reminders of what the Thunder have. Gilgeous-Alexander opened OKC’s scoring with a nice left-handed layup around center Rudy Gobert, and made some looks in the paint.

He was fine, but not necessarily good.

How much of this was due to the league watching more film on him? How much was due to the Jazz’s defense simply being really, really good? How much is SGA finding his footing after missing the second half of last season?

There is no need to be worried by the performance — after all, Mitchell finished with a nearly identical 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting — but it wasn’t the start that the Thunder expected.

Josh Giddey: C+

Oct 20, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) shoots the ball over Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the third quarter at Vivint Arena. Utah Jazz won 107-86. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

It was a rough start for the No. 6 pick in the NBA. Josh Giddey committed the cardinal sin of clanking a long 2-pointer early in the shot clock in his first NBA shot, and then committed a different cardinal sin of almost turning the ball over, recovering it, and then turning it over.

But he settled in. The three assists in the box score does not accurately show the strength of some of his reads and passes, and he hit some floaters that seemed more veteran than a rookie in his first game should be. Giddey had 10 rebounds, a promising sign for the Thunder’s game plan of having players grab the rebound and get the ball up court.

So after that rough beginning, Giddey turned in a decent performance overall.

Aleksej Pokusevski: D

Aleksej Pokusevski checked in and immediately committed an offensive foul. In his first possession, he charged down the court and, while either trying to find his position or attempting to set a screen, rammed into a defender. It wasn’t exactly clear what happened, but what was shown on the broadcast is Pokusevski sprinting down court and then a man being on the ground.

Honestly, an amusing turn of events. But it was the most notable thing that Pokusevski did. He was scoreless on two shots while recording three assists and rebounds apiece in 15 minutes of play.

So far, not a whole lot of change from last year.

Theo Maledon: D

It appears that Theo Maledon’s 3-point shooting did not improve over the offseason. He was 0-for-3 from deep with some misses in the corner, and he had his foot on the out-of-bounds line as he caught one pass in the corner. Not a good start to year number two.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: B

He did some cutting. He made some pick-and-pops and pick-and-rolls. He hit a pair of 3s. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl may have been the best Thunder rookie on the court, finishing with 10 points in 13 minutes of play.

Expect him to get some starts as the team balances youth with Derrick Favors’ need for minutes.

Tre Mann: B

Tre Mann didn’t do a whole lot, but he did what was asked. He went 3-for-5 from the field, including a shot to end the first quarter with his foot on the line.

It was a decent opener for Mann. His minutes might fluctuate with the need to get Ty Jerome some action — on Wednesday, Jerome was a DNP — but the rookie earned time moving forward.

Darius Bazley: B

Oct 20, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley (7) dunks the basketball during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena. Utah Jazz won 107-86. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Darius Bazley ramped up his game in the fourth quarter, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. Those numbers were solid, but quite a bit came in garbage time and he shot 5-for-14 from the field while making only one of his seven 3-point attempts.

But his dunk over Hassan Whiteside gains him a letter grade.

Isaiah Roby: B

If memory serves, Isaiah Roby earned the first “that is nasty” of the year from the Thunder broadcast team.

It was garbage time, but he threw home this dunk for his highlight of the game.

Roby’s box score doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but he did some really nice things including tapping out a rebound that led to a Dort 3-pointer. The first Thunder player in off the bench, Roby finished with four offensive rebounds and six total to go with eight points in 14 minutes of play.

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