Oklahoma City Thunder: Is Mitch McGary In Line For A Big Role?

By Sipho Mangoye | Feb 10, 2015

Feb 8, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary (33) attempts a shot against Los Angeles Clippers forward Hedo Turkoglu (15) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Mitch McGary – if you didn’t already know the name yet, then you probably will do after Sunday night.

With Kendrick Perkins suspended for head butting Tyreke Evans on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans and Steven Adams injuring his hand in the late in second quarter, Coach Scott Brooks had little choice but to go with the 21st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and he didn’t disappoint.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie had his break out game during the 131-108 clobbering of the Los Angeles Clippers. He finished the contest with 19 points as he made all but one of his nine attempts from the field, three of his four attempts at the free-throw line, as well as hauling in 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action.

Incredibly, that was merely his third game in the NBA, however, it was the first one in which he got any significant game-time after registering just a minute against the Orlando Magic a few games back, and seven minutes versus Phoenix prior to that.

“I just had a great time out there,” said the 22-year-old during his postgame interviews. “The veterans gave me a few pointers during the game to keep me focused, like what I need to do; where need to be; and get to my spots.”

The question now is: does his performance warrant a bigger role?

McGary’s scoring is certainly something OKC have lacked this season. Even though they provide a lot on defense, rebounding and just providing all-round toughness, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collins and Steven Adams aren’t exactly blessed with a wealth of talent offensively.

Between them, they have averaged four, 3.6, 7.4 points, respectively – hardly the ideal offensive production from your three of your top four bigs, and that’s where the rookie comes in.

In eight appearances with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate team, the Oklahoma City Blue, McGary averaged 16.4 points in addition to hauling in 7.8 boards in 24.3 minutes per game. If he can transfer those skills over the to the majors and have some level of consistency about him, his workload could increase.

And looking at Coach Brooks’ postgame interview and reading between the lines, perhaps we already have the answer.

“I thought he did a good job tonight,” said Brooks. “We liked what we saw; he is ready and he is going to have to be ready for the rest of the season.”

Now, it is perfectly fair to be cynical about his performance on Sunday and mark as just a one-off, after all, it’s just one game. Making major roster decisions right now probably wouldn’t be so wise. Then again, it could be the start of something special for OKC and McGary – provided he is afforded the opportunity to shine.

McGary has been marred by injuries, mostly regarding his back, since turning pro. Nonetheless, he’s an energy guy who will provide an extra jolt for the team – whether it’s getting the fans pumped up from the bench or doing the dirty work and hustling for loose balls. And that is something he knows the noisy Oklahoma City Thunder Fans will appreciate.

“I’m a pretty energetic guy so the crowd usually gets into it and I always hear a lot of noise and fans cheering whenever I get into the game; even if I don’t score or anything like that. Today I had a good game and all that can do is get the crowd into it even more.”

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