The OKC Thunder are on a three-game winning streak and one player that has stood out during that stretch is Steven Adams.
Steven Adams‘ play has been one of the best parts of the current three-game win streak that the Oklahoma City Thunder are enjoying after dropping three straight. During the streak, Adams has put up 66 total points, 25 total rebounds and is shooting 28-of-34 from the field. That is 82 percent shooting.
During OKC’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that started the winning streak, Adams shot a perfect 11-for-11 from the field en route to a career-high 27 points. He followed that up with a 19-point, 8-for-13 game against the San Antonio Spurs.
In the Thunder’s next game against the Jazz, Adams was 9-for-10 and scored 20 points. The Big Three of Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and Russell Westbrook is called the “OK3,” but with Adams playing like this, OKC has a Big Four.
Adams is the fourth option on the team and when the Thunder need a easy basket on a lob, pass to the paint or pick-and-roll, Adams is that guy. He has the ability to back down opposing players, shoot a floater in the paint and dunk with such force that it changes the game.
In the offseason I said that Adams would have to average a double-double for the Thunder to take the team to the next level. So far he is averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, up from his 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last year.
Adams is still a young player as this is his fourth year in the NBA. Every year he has gotten better. Playing with perimeter players like Anthony, George and Westbrook has opened things up for him in the paint and his efficiency certainly helps.
With three perimeter players as your primary scorers, Adams’ role is perfect because with other players shooting jump shots, there has to be somebody that will get you easy ones. Also, if those jump shots are off the mark, there has to be somebody that can get you second chance points.
Adams has filled that role. He has more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds, with 4.4 offensive boards per game and 3.8 defensive per game.
In terms of efficiency, Adams leads the team in field goal percentage with 65.3 percent. For a player that plays so much, his field goal percentage is exemplary. Adams is 27th in the league in field goal percentage but that does not tell the full tale.
The other two players that average more minutes than him and have a higher field goal percentage are Tony Snell and DeAndre Jordan. Both are averaging 32.4 minutes per game while Adams averages 31.3 per game.
Adams’ Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is the highest it has ever been as well. PER is the measure of per-minute production for an NBA player. Basketball reference states that the average PER is 15. Adams is at 21.5 so far this season.
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You knew what you were going to get with the Big Three but it was the other players that were going to have to step it up. Adams is the only double -igit per game scorer besides the Big Three and his play has the OKC Thunder on the right track again.