NBA Rookies: Cason Wallace Registers Career-High in Points in Win Over Utah
Former Kentucky Wildcat Cason Wallace has continually produced efficient performances night in and night out for the Oklahoma City Thunder, routinely being one of the first players off the bench while averaging the sixth most minutes on the team.
As a team on the cusp of being possibly the best team in its conference, Wallace's rookie experience has been growing immensely with his ability to take initiative while playing to his own pace.
It's easy to make errant plays in your first year in the league – turnover issues, poor shot selection, lack of awareness – but all of these are the least likely issues to be tagged to Wallace's style of play.
His name of the game is efficiency and patience, letting things offensively come to him while applying constant pressure and a help-side cushion as a defender.
In 21.5 minutes per game, Wallace puts up 6.9 points, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Currently, he holds the 11th most points among all rookies with 281 on the season, as he had probably his best offensive outing on the season in a much-needed win for the Thunder on Thursday night.
Coming off a two-loss stint in back-to-back nights versus the Los Angeles Lakers and the L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City needed to get back on track in order to maintain its No. 2 spot in the West.
And having never dropped three games in a row on the season, Wallace and the Thunder didn't relinquish that stat just yet – as his career-high 16 points and 4-of-5 from 3-point distance, 6-of-7 from the field assisted them to a five-point win.
In addition to Wallace's offensive production, he added a block and a steal while his on-ball defense is hardly ever remiss.
He's certainly had his hiccups and some relatively impactless offensive games, but he can hardly ever be pinned for the root cause of a lagging offense due to his awareness to pull it back and compete to his own devices.
Shooting 50.9% from the field and 41.4% from three on the season, his rookie season has been nothing short of promising and demonstrative, showcasing the type of reliability and maturity he possesses as just a freshman.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.