Top Performers: First-Round Picks Star in Comeback vs. Blazers

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out with an ankle sprain, Oklahoma City's pair of first-round picks stepped up in his place.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had to improvise Monday evening, as with star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the mix with a sprained ankle – the rest of Mark Daigneault’s crew needed to fill in the gashes left behind.

With a potential identity crisis being absent of SGA, the Thunder came in unison, flipping from a 17-deficit to a 17-point, 98-81 victory powered behind a 74-39 closing run.

The Thunder took an additional hit in the frontcourt Monday as with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl placing his G League debut earlier in the day, Mark Daigneault faced even more rotational shenanigans.

Here were the top performers from Monday’s bout:

Josh Giddey

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It took some time for Josh Giddey to settle into his newfound primary ball-handling role. But, once the ball started rolling – the 19-year-old came into his own.

Giddey’s first quarter of action saw feeble production as the guard looked completely frazzled, misfiring on all four of his shot attempts with tacking on two turnovers. Past the first 12 minutes, the Aussie added a completely different element to play, concluding the evening with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists across 32 minutes.

For the rookie, he stayed true to his colors by directing his attention towards the interior. Whether a play was scrummed up through isolation, off a high-ball screen, or created off-the-ball, his continuous hounding took a toll on the Blazers – canning all five of his makes around the basket.

Leading into Monday, Giddey stalked upon averages of 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists in three games without SGA. Though the guard didn’t live up to his prior averages, he played a pivotal role through thick-and-thin at the Paycom while holding his man Anfernee Simons to a 3-of-16 clip.

Tre Mann

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With a void in the starting unit, Tre Mann wiggled his way into the fourth start of his career. He impressed in his stint.

In a 24-minute sample, Mann stayed true to his ball-dominant colors, gunning off 10 shots (4-of-10 FG) while gunning out six shots from beyond-the-arc. The guard did post a fairly one-dimensional performance as he only unleashes one assist, though his shot creation ability was on full display as he opened the floodgates off stepbacks and between-the-legs dribbles.

The first-round pick is still searching from a sweet spot between shots and kick-outs, but with Gilgeous-Alexander out until at least the All-Star break – he should have ample opportunities to place a resume.

Darius Bazley

Alonzo Adams / USA Today

Since shifting to the bench, third-year forward Darius Bazley has provided much-needed production. He delivered on Monday.

Bazley earned all 26 of his minutes in the inter-conference meeting, as with OKC’s top option out of the mix, the forward added 15 points and 5 rebounds. The typical double-digit dowsing for Bazley includes shot attempts well into the tens; he only shot seven shots on Monday, converting on five.

With a 27% three-point clip, one of the forward’s largest knocks this season has rested at the perimeter. That was not the case against the Blazers as he downed 3-of-4 tries.

When he’s feeling it, Bazley’s versatile play on both ends of the ball makes him a lethal add-on within Daigneault’s blueprint. With Shai out, the forward will hold one of his best stretches to impress. 

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