More Thunder coverage,
It’s preseason, and that disclaimer is important.
Terrance Ferguson is logging minutes against some guys fighting for NBA roster spots. Some will be in the G League this winter.
But when the Thunder rookie dashed down the lane and hammered home a highflying two-handed dunk in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 102-91 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City fans could be forgiven for some excitement.
Ferguson had 9 points in 24 minutes Friday night, continuing a solid preseason. He made 3 of 6 shots, hit 1 of 2 3-pointers and showed some defensive energy.
He also looked at times like the 19-year-old rookie that he is, drawing a frustrated look from Russell Westbrook on a fourth-quarter play when Ferguson parked on the perimeter when he could have cut to the rim.
At 6-foot-7, Ferguson is listed at 184 pounds, and he’s rail thin. He fouled out of Friday’s game and looks a long way from competing physically in the NBA. But he can play above the rim, runs the floor hard and developed a reputation in his high school All-American days as a sharpshooter.
He also spent last season playing professionally in Australia, a basketball internship of sorts that has served him well in his early adjustment to the NBA.
Ferguson might not factor into the Thunder’s regularseason rotation, but he’s made an impression early, averaging 21.5 minutes in Oklahoma City’s two preseason games.
Semaj sighting
Semaj Christon, who didn’t play against Houston on Tuesday, checked into Friday night’s game with 6:24 to play in the second quarter.
It fulfilled a pregame promise from coach Billy Donovan, who said he planned to get Christon some work against New Orleans after sitting him against the Rockets.
The decision not to play Christon on Tuesday centered mostly on trying to get a look at two other guards, camp invite Isaiah Canaan and Daniel Hamilton, who’s on a two-way contract with the Thunder and its G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Donovan knows Christon, who played 64 games for the Thunder last season.
“(Houston) was a game with Raymond (Felton) starting and Russell being out, I thought it was an opportunity to play Raymond a lot in that first half and then try to use Daniel and Isaiah just because I hadn’t really seen much of those guys, to see what they could do,” Donovan said.
Christon finished Friday's game with eight points in 21 minutes.
Thunder garage sale
Home Court Support, a group made of up spouses and families of members of Thunder players, coaches and operations staff, will hold its annual garage sale Saturday at the Oklahoma City Blue practice facility at 14701 North Lincoln Blvd. in Edmond.
This year’s event benefits Cleats 4 Kids, a charity that helps provide sports equipment for underprivileged youth.
The sale, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., features new and unused Thunder staff and player gear, including jerseys, practice gear, polos, travel sweats and shoes.
Quotable
“I just think that every team needs a guy like him ...’s gonna disrupt offenses. He’s a good rebounder. And occasionally, he’ll make a 3-point shot. Those are the kinds of guys, they’re coaches’ guys, I guess, more so than anything.” — Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry on the Thunder’s Andre Roberson, whom he called “probably the best glue guy in the league.”