OKC Thunder: Jerami Grant’s improved play is boosting the bench

Jerami Grant is playing good defense and has improved on offense to the point that now he is a reliable player coming off the bench for the OKC Thunder.

The Thunder have an All-Star starting lineup, but one of the questions that the Oklahoma City Thunder had coming into the season was the bench. The Carmelo Anthony and Paul George trades made that worse because they gave up some bench players for those two superstars. Fourth-year reserve Jerami Grant has been able to provide relief.

In terms of bench scoring for the OKC Thunder, Jerami Grant is second behind Raymond Felton (8.4 points per game) with 8.0 points a game. Also, he has been able to use his long arms to get 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks a game during this early season. He showed his blocking ability recently when he was able to swat his own brother’s shot. Grant’s brother is Jerian Grant of the Chicago Bulls.

Grant is a slasher type of player that can get lobs and easy dunks off cutting to the basket. When he is able to play with Russell Westbrook, his talents are displayed the best because of Westbrook’s ability to find cutting players. Here are some highlights from last season that tell the tale of Jerami Grant.

The second unit will need that high-flying athletic wing and Grant can provide that. His efficiency is something that should be noted too. He is shooting 44 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line. His ability to get easy buckets makes him a player that will be able to play down the course of the season because sometimes the 3s just don’t fall.

The OKC Thunder picked up the option on Grant’s contract during the summer and he has not disappointed. Last year he showed flexibility by playing the small forward, power forward and even the center positions. His skill on defense has met his potential on offense and now he is playing the best basketball of his career.

Head coach Billy Donovan talked about Grant’s versatility via The Norman Transcript:

"“At the power forward spot, he’s got some advantages because one of his greatest strengths that probably people don’t talk about is he’s a terrific rim protector and great shot blocker,” Donovan said."

Grant has been in the lineup with Carmelo Anthony and Paul George and that can be a big factor to his stats exploding. With Anthony and George being the main offensive focus, that lets Grant move around the court freely and get put-backs, easy dunks and open shots.

His 3-point shooting has not been as good as it was last year when he shot 37.7 percent from 3 but he has proven before that he can hit the shot.

Jerami Grant may never be the star player that he was at Syracuse, but what he can do is be a Swiss army knife for the OKC Thunder. His ability to play everywhere on the floor, guard multiple positions and just use his God-given abilities will make him a valuable player for the Thunder.

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For a team that is not very deep, Grant’s play has got to be an early blessing for the Thunder.