OKC Thunder has Several Former Players Remaining in the NBA Playoffs

With the NBA playoffs continuing and now into the second round, half of the teams that started in the playoffs are now at home or on vacation. We checked in on every former Oklahoma City Thunder player in the playoffs, and with the amount of teams remaining, it’s time to check in again, but this time with a performance review.

Denver Nuggets

Unless something goes incredibly bad – or good – for the Nuggets, Ish Smith isn’t going to see the floor. He’s played a total of seven minutes across two games in this postseason.

Despite being 36-years-old and having been through plenty across his career, Jeff Green is playing legit playoff minutes. He averaged 22.6 minutes per game in the first series and is playing 16 minutes per game currently against the Phoenix Suns in the second round. His minutes aren’t useless, either, and he’s shown a solid display of plenty of bounce that he has left in the tank.

Reggie Jackson was brought onto the Nuggets after the trade deadline, and he’s played the same minutes as Ish Smith, meaning he’s not in the rotation.

Golden State Warriors

Ty Jerome is ineligible for the playoffs because of his two-way contract, but his Warriors are currently tied 1-1 through two games against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns

Cameron Payne played a part in the Suns’ first finals run, and he’s being forced to do so again, this time with other former Thunder players on the team. Chris Paul is seeing injuries, and this saw Payne receive 30 minutes in the last game after being hardly in the rotation.

Darius Bazley has yet to see the court for the Suns in this playoff run, and unless something goes incredibly good or bad, he likely won’t see the floor.

After his one season with the Thunder, Chris Paul has been on a journey with the Suns, and had been mostly healthy for those years, but he’s seeing a postseason injury throw things off now. Before the injury, he was playing well and playing the role he needs to for the Suns to maximize their offense.

There’s only been one Suns game where Durant played less than 40 minutes, and that’s going to have to continue. He’s been playing underwhelmingly in terms of efficiency, and it’s been the reason for some of the Suns’ struggles. Once he turns things around, the Suns will be in a good spot.

Los Angeles Lakers

Dennis Schroder didn’t have a huge impact on the Lakers’ first series, but the opportunity for his impact in the second round is huge. Schroder is one of the only Lakers players that can keep up with Curry with his foot speed, and that will be valuable as the Lakers look to create an edge in their next two home games.

Miami Heat

In the first round, Victor Oladipo unfortunately saw an injury that would put an end to his season, which adds another layer to the injuries that the Heat have seen this postseason.

New York Knicks

Having been picked up by the Knicks late in the season, Isaiah Roby has yet to see any postseason action – or any action at that – for the Knicks.

Philadelphia 76ers

James Harden looked like a shell of his MVP-self in game one of the second round, but he has since seen his numbers fall off a cliff. He seems to have seldom confidence though he clearly still has the skill and IQ needed to make a championship impact.

Boston Celtics

Even when Al Horford isn’t playing his best, his impact is invaluable. His ability to stretch the floor and his timely defense shouldn’t be understated and he’s a big part of the Celtics’ championship potential.
As mentioned last time, Danilo Gallinari suffered a torn ACL and hasn’t been able to play for the Celtics at all this season.

Mike Muscala has played six total minutes in this postseason and is 1-of-1 on 3-pointers attempted this season.

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