Schroder leads bench to near-historic performance
The Thunder's bench is not a team strength, but it turned in a dominant performance Monday night.
OKC's bench outscored Houston's bench 52-14. It was the Thunder's largest bench scoring margin since April 2017 against the Nuggets, and the fourth-largest since the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.
Dennis Schroder and Nerlens Noel combined for 37 points off the bench in OKC's 116-112 loss at Houston.
Schroder tied for the team high with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. After a slow 5-of-22 start to the season, Schroder has made 17-of26 attempts in his last two games.
He's also been more active on defense. Schroder's 10.2 net rating is the best on the team.
Net rating measures a player's point differential per 100 possessions when he is on the court.
“I love Dennis,” Chris Paul said Monday night. “I hated playing against him, because Dennis is one of the few guards in our league who still picks up full court. That's a pest … I can get by guys. Dennis is a whole `nother speed.”
Injury report
Steven Adams left Monday' s game with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, and he did not return.
The OKC center suffered a left
knee contusion, per the Thunder. He disappeared into the tunnel several times during the game, which is not uncommon for Adams. He periodically rides the stationary bike when he isn't playing to stay sharp.
But halfway through the fourth quarter, Adams left the court and headed to the tunnel, where he talked with Donnie Strack, Thunder vice president of human and player performance.
“He had been talking to me
throughout the game,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said of Adams. “And obviously he was trying to go, and then he basically came to me and he said, `You've got to take me out.'”
After the game, Adams said he didn't remember when he suffered the injury.
“Feeling good, mate, not bad,” Adams said. “… Just a bit of a bruise, mate.”
Adams i s averaging 27.3 minutes per game after averaging 33.4 minutes per game last season.
Adams has struggled on offense. The 7-foot center is 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) from the floor and 4-of-14 from the free throw line.
Hey, hey, hey
Kawhi Leonard's introductory “Hey, hey, hey” to Clippers fans quickly turned into his latest NBA meme. Thunder rookie Darius Bazley did an impression of the low energy introduction when he addressed the Oklahoma City crowd Friday night in the home opener.
Baz le y' s version also went viral, and there was speculation that one of his older teammates put him up to it.
Leonard was asked Monday night if he had seen Bazley's impression.
“I think somebody sent it to me, but I just take it as love,” Leonard said. “People love me, I guess, and like the things I say.”