Grades: Austin Rivers Saves Day in OKC

Nikola Jokić – B

Nikola Jokić didn’t look too interested in dominating the Thunder. The starters got off to a crisp and balanced effort in the first quarter, and Hercules caught a whiff off a day off. He threw two disrespectful passes in the first, the first qualifying in its audacity, the second in its apathy.

Jokić did make his mark on the glass—18 rebounds (8 OREB)—and limited his turnovers, but he only shot 8 of 21 from the field in a peculiar performance. Even the big fella needed bailing out, and he got it from an unlikely source.

Will Barton – C

Barton played his best half of basketball to open the game for some time. He had the hot hand in the first and shifted into playmaker gear in the second. His approach was great until the third quarter came. Barton was featured heavily in Denver’s worst stretch of the game as another big lead melted in their hands. He did, however, seal the game with two clutch free throws.

Aaron Gordon – C

Gordon looks like he could use a day off. He successfully slowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with a vital assist from Austin Rivers. But he wasn’t at his best defensively when handling other matchups and was relegated to a corner shooter with JaMychal Green in the starting lineup. That latter dynamic is something to watch and is probably the strongest argument for switching Dos Verdes back to their original roles.

JaMychal Green – B-

While Green’s presence had a detrimental effect on AG, Green himself played a decent game. He took only three shots—all dunks from the dunker spot via feeds from Jokić—and flushed them down. He only grabbed three rebounds, but Jokić shouted his rebounding out after the game anyway. He reiterated that he loves playing with JaMychal.

Monte Morris – B

Morris played well. The only issue is he didn’t play enough. Malone rode Facundo Campazzo deep into the fourth, begging questions about Morris’ ability to go. He did close the game, though, and we’ve no word of any injuries.

Austin Rivers – A

In 2021, the OKC Thunder acquired Austin Rivers from NYK at the deadline. However, he was never in their plans, and they waived him shortly after. I don’t know if Rivers took that personally, but it sure looked like it as he ruined their night on Sunday. Rivers closed the game, helping to stifle SGA and knocking down some big-time shots. Rivers and Jokić led all scorers with 22.

Facundo Campazzo – C-

Campazzo finished with a respectable 8:3 AST:TOV ratio, but two of his turnovers came in the fourth quarter, and he nearly picked up a couple more in the third. He tried to do too much as the game tightened up, and it backfired. Campazzo missed all of his shots from the field and led all Nuggets with his three turnovers.

Jeff Green – B+

Jeff Green scored 16 points off the bench, where he looks comfortable. He and Campazzo are developing some chemistry, with Green’s athleticism unlocking a new path to offense for the second unit.

Zeke Nnaji – C

Zeke tends to fade deep into the background of NBA games, and he did once again in OKC. He did grab six rebounds, though, including three on the offensive end. That’s a welcome contribution from him.

Bones Hyland – F

Hyland went scoreless as he shot 0 of 5 from the field and couldn’t stop anyone on the other end. It was one of the worst outings in his nascent career.

Davon Reed – B-

In the second half, Malone ultimately benched Hyland for Reed, a wise move as Reed took no time to make an imprint on the game defensively. He did take another mind-boggling shot, one that’s incongruent with our understanding of him as a low-mistake player, but he made up for it with a big-time three in the fourth.