Thunder rest five key players and still blitz Sixers

The Oklahoma City Thunder rested Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein and still beat the Sixers by a thousand (all numbers approximate).

Here's what I saw.

Likes

- As we contemplate Quentin Grimes' future with the Sixers, I think it's a good thing that he very clearly cannot excel as a point guard. It's fairly obvious that he just doesn't have the playmaking chops and is prone to mistakes when forced to dribble for extended periods of time. But that's OK. You reach a point where there are too many cooks in the kitchen. The Sixers have Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, both of whom profile as lineup-governing ball-handlers. So if Grimes' most natural fit is at shooting guard, perfect. He's got the pop to attack closeouts off the swing and his shooting - both off the catch and off the dribble - has translated kindly to a higher-usage role.

I do think a mystery remains, and it's difficult to have an answer at this stage - how does his shooting translate to lower usage? The question that we'll be asking as long as Grimes stays in Philadelphia for the long haul is whether this heater following the trade to the Sixers is a product of getting a ton of touches. If it is, it does make a big contract for him a bit less appetizing. On the other hand, if he's playing in Philadelphia as a fourth option, it likely means Joel Embiid and Paul George have struck health.

Players like Grimes should make you appreciate what JJ Redick brought to the Sixers even more. Sure, he couldn't guard a soul. But he was an absolute sniper on low usage. There was no need to get him going as a ball-handler to ignite the shooting. He could hit seven or eight triples in a game and need 16 total seconds of touch time. That's a powerful skill. And if Grimes can translate the offensive potency to a lower-usage gig with the Sixers whilst maintaining the defensive energy, that trade was a Bryce Harper moonshot to the second deck of Citizens Bank Park.

- A golf clap for Chuma Okeke. A double-double and he was the only Sixer to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.

Dislikes

- The Sixers had two things working against them immediately in this game - traditional size and chemistry. With the likes of Chet Holmgren simply on the court, Philadelphia had little response against post-ups and quick seals inside. There was no adjustment to be made that wouldn't have led to issues elsewhere. It was a size disparity that couldn't be overcome with Philadelphia in its current state. 

Holmgren didn't just do damage on offense. His mere existence in the paint got in the Sixers' heads. Their best finishers were challenged at the rim, leaving layups off the mark and pushing Philadelphia out to the perimeter. But there was no replicating the shooting magic from Monday's game in Houston. Yabusele not evening competing for the opening tip-off was emblematic in its own right - the Sixers were c-o-o-k-e-d with size alone.

That chemistry we alluded to was the difference between Oklahoma City's backups looking like a buzzsaw and the Sixers looking like a G League group. (In fairness, the Sixers almost literally are a G League group right now.) The Thunder knew exactly who they were and what they were supposed to do at all times. The Sixers were just hoping for success to intersect with coherence. Perhaps the best example of that was Jaylin Williams attacking an open lane because no one picked him up in space, and then zipping the ball across the floor to the weak-side wing for an open three as soon as a Philadelphia helper made the rotation to prevent an uncontested layup.

The Thunder, from top to bottom, have spent enough time to together and drilled down enough on fundamentals that everyone has ancillary skills that complement one another. They know how to play off one another and they know where to be at all times. Even the trimmed down version of Oklahoma City was sure of itself and played the game cleaner than the Sixers could.

- I feel categorically ridiculous for picking a bone with Alex Reese, but if he's up here getting minutes, he's responsible for his play. The three-point shooting in the G League has not translated to the NBA but at least he's also under-sized for a big and cannot guard in space. The dude just misses his assignments all over the place.

Spare thoughts

- As if this season hasn't eaten the souls of the locals already, watching Isaiah Joe douse the corpse of the Sixers for 21 points was only cause for more therapy. When it rains, it pours. 

The Sixers (23-46) will visit the San Antonio Spurs (28-39) on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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