STEVEN ADAMS RETURNS FROM INJURY
Hours before the Thunder played the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Steven Adams was working up a sweat.
He was running and cutting, finishing around the rim, dishing to an assistant coach from the free-throw line. It was clear than that Adams was closing in on a comeback from contusion in his right calf. It came Friday night at the AT&T Center, and Adams seemed scarcely to have skipped a beat in sitting three games.
By halftime of the Thunder’s game against the Spurs, Adams had scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds, three of them at the offensive end. Adams made 3 of 4 first-half shots.
Adams injured his calf on Nov. 9 at Denver, and he missed Thunder wins against the L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Bulls. Oklahoma City held those opponents to 96.7 points per 100 possessions, the same number it had allowed for the season entering Friday.
“Without him, we probably had to trap a little bit more around the basket,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we did a good job protecting the paint. We did a better job last couple games rebounding.”
Adams’ return didn’t bury backup Dakari Johnson on the bench. The rookie had played a total of eight minutes before Adams’ injury, appearing in three of Oklahoma City’s first 11 games. He started all three games in Adams’ absence, and he saw three first-half minutes on Friday.
“Dakari did a terrific job, and I’ve got confidence in Dakari,” Donovan said. “He’s worked hard. And there may be opportunities certainly to continue to use him based on who’s out there, personnel, those kinds of things.”
Adams finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in Friday night’s 104-101 loss.
Mohammed joins new OKC initiative
The Thunder is beginning a new initiative for select former players that is designed to create education for careers after basketball. Former Thunder center Nazr Mohammed is the first player to participate.
The curriculum for the program focuses on “building fundamentals such as player evaluation, salary cap education, player development, technology and presentations, sports science, analytics and other areas,” team spokesman Matt Tumbleson said in an email.
There also will be a wellness component that focuses on the “physical and emotional transition” that follows a playing career, Tumbleson said.
Mohammed played 18 NBA seasons and finished his career playing five games for the Thunder in 2015-16. The former Kentucky star played in 87 regular-season games and 22 playoff games for Oklahoma City from 2010-12.
Mohammed lives in Charlotte, N.C., and will continue to be based there. He’ll evaluate professional players and commute to Oklahoma City for monthly sessions.
Mohammed will become the third former Thunder player to work with the organization in some capacity. Royal Ivey is an assistant coach on the Thunder staff and also has worked as an assistant for the Oklahoma City Blue. Mike Wilks is the Thunder’s senior pro evaluation scout.
Circle of hoops
When Andre Roberson was a kid in San Antonio, he spent hours at the DavisScott YMCA. He learned basketball there, and not just from his coaches.
Sometimes, players from the Spurs would make appearances, giving kids life advice and joining them on the court for shooting games. Among those players was Tony Parker, who’s still a Spur, though he’s out after offseason tendon surgery.
“He was a young Tony Parker at the time,” Roberson said. “It was cool.”
Roberson said he’s never mentioned the connection to Parker. But after the Thunder’s flight landed on Thursday, Roberson visited that YMCA as an NBA player himself, distributing Thanksgiving meals to families.
“It just brings back a lot of memories and familiar faces,” Roberson said. “It’s always good to go back and kind of relishing those moments.”