Top Performers: Blue Battalion Leave Final Mark as Thunder Close Out Season

Zavier Simpson

Everyone needs a trusty captain. Zavier Simpson steered the ship on Sunday.

With Simpson’s father, Quincy, who coached him from AAU until high school, in attendance, he got in his groove in the palms. Captain Hook continued his ball-handling duties posting a career-high 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists across 45 minutes.

Simpson dipped back into his collection of skyhooks early into the game, then shifted into playmaking mode. The guard was a player in the paint as his speedy play saw him run a circle around Ivica Zubac on back-to-back plays.

Given that the majority of Oklahoma City’s rotation the last week-or-so has consisted of 10-day contracts, you’d imagine stat-padding would fall somewhere in the equation. Zavier Simpson’s tenure showed no signs of such play. The six-foot guard routinely passed up on point-blank shots on Sunday, instead zinging kick-outs for wide-open triples, and he did that in all four games.

As the Oklahoma City Blue’s top playmaker the past two seasons, Simpson left his mark with the Thunder keeping his unselfishness atop the menu.

Vit Krejci

In the scoring department, Vit Krejci saved his best for last.

Krejci emerged as the Thunder’s best slasher quickly into the contest, and the ball continued to go his way. On the night, the 21-year-old absorbed contact at the cup for four of his seven made field goals.

The guard capped the night on a 7-of-17 clip, amassing a career-high 16 points to tally with two assists. The Czech struggled big time from three as his once rookie-leading three-ball fell flat, uncorking a 2-of-8 rate.

Though fairly inconsistent in the game, Krejci’s slashing ability deserves high praise, as in a halfcourt setting, none of the frontcourt figures seemed to draw success inside.

Jaylen Hoard

Oklahoma City’s 10-day darling, Jaylen Hoard, made a sneaky appearance in the season closer.

Hoard looked like a fish out of the water to begin the night, finding himself completely walled off from the paint. As a result, he ended the first frame a blank 0-of-5. The 23-year-old stayed under the radar the entire game with no double-digit scoring quarter. But, he did finish with a double-double posting 14 points and 15 rebounds.

There’s a case to be made that this was Hoard’s least appetizing game in the starting lineup as the forward was outmatched the majority of the night, closing shop on a 6-of-20 shot chart. In these tightly-woven games, the stats need to go somewhere, and even on a bad day he still snags good outputs. That’s a testament to his high levels of energy.

Hoard’s NBA season will be an eyebrow-raiser for years to come as in seven games, the Frenchman averaged 14.7 points and 12.0 rebounds across 34.7 minutes. In his return to the Thunder, he once again showed his tenacity inside. We’ll see how that impacts his market come summertime.

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.