NBA review could lead to Westbrook triple-double
Russell Westbrook came up just short of a triple-double on Tuesday.
Or maybe he didn’t. As part of a standard review procedure, the NBA on Wednesday planned to take a look at an apparent Westbrook assist that was not credited in the Thunder’s 110-91 win against the Bucks on Tuesday in Milwaukee, a league source told The Oklahoman.
Westbrook finished the game with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The play at issue from Tuesday’s game came with 5:15 to play in the first quarter. From the top of the key, Westbrook drove left into the lane and lobbed a pass to center Steven Adams for a dunk.
It’s a clear-cut assist, though Westbrook was not credited with one.
The NBA could change the ruling and credit Westbrook with an assist, giving him what would be his fourth triple-double of the season.
Plays and statistical rulings routinely are reviewed, and not just when tripledoubles are at stake. A wide range of plays are examined daily.
Sometimes triple-doubles do come into play. In 2015, the NBA revoked one from the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo when a review determined that two of his assists should have been credited to another player.
Two-way talk
The Oklahoma City Blue opens its season on Friday, and some things have changed.
For starters, the Thunder’s developmental team now plays in the G League,
the new, Gatorade-sponsored name of the former D League. It also has two players – guards Daniel
Hamilton and PJ Dozier –on the NBA’s new two-way contracts.
Hamilton and Dozier are on the Blue roster but can spend up to 45 days with the Thunder.
The addition of two-way players “affects the whole league,” Blue coach Mark
Daigneault said at the team’s media day on Wednesday, but the Blue has experience with players shuffling back and forth to the Thunder.
Just last season, Josh
Huestis, Cameron Payne and Semaj Christon logged time for both teams. Hamilton and Dakari Johnson, who’s now on the Thunder roster, former Thunder draft pick, are former second-round NBA draft picks who have played with the Blue.
“Over the last three years we have had four guys that we have drafted and have spent a year here and that has given us a pretty good model for how we will work with the two-way players while they are with us,” Daigneault said. “That has been a huge advantage for us. I can’t say that a lot of things are going to change on our end, other than the amount of exposure that Daniel and PJ will have to the Thunder.”
Holiday Assist tips off
The Thunder’s 10th annual Holiday Assist tips off Friday, when fans attending Oklahoma City’s home game against the Boston Celtics are asked to make a donation to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
While supplies last, fans who donate will receive a coupon for a free Whataburger. For every $5 donated, fans will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a Thunder team-autographed basketball or free Whataburger for a year.