Oklahoma City Thunder: Corey Brewer excelling in starting role
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Corey Brewer has proven to be a solid midseason addition.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were in need of a player who could step in and fill the void created by the unexpected loss of Andre Roberson, who will miss the rest of the season due to a ruptured left patellar tendon.
Enter Corey Brewer.
On the surface, the acquisition didn’t seem like it would move the needle all that much. After all, in 54 games with the Los Angeles Lakes, Brewer posted averages of 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest on 45.3 percent shooting and an abysmal 18.6 percent from 3-point range.
On top of that, Brewer isn’t on the same level as Roberson when it comes to playing defense. In other words, Brewer was considered useful to an extent, but his addition to the roster wasn’t going to do much for the Thunder as they looked to improve their playoff position in a tough Western Conference.
In his first two games with the Thunder, that assessment appeared to be dead on. Brewer scored a combined 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting from the field and converted just two of his eight attempts from beyond the arc.
Despite the rough start with his new team, though, head coach Bill Donovan rolled the dice and inserted Brewer into the starting lineup.
Donovan would certainly live to regret this decision, right?
As it turns out, putting Brewer in the starting lineup has paid off nicely, to say the least. During the last six games, Brewer is averaging 14 points per outing and has reached double figures in five of those contests. In his 54-game stint with the Lakers, he reached the double-figure plateau just four times.
His best outing to date includes a 22-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on Mar. 16. In that contest, Brewer went for a season-high of 22 points to go along with six steals and three assists.
When the Thunder acquired Brewer, the consensus was he wouldn’t be able to provide much from a perimeter standpoint. In spite of the naysayers, Brewer is shooting 51.9 percent from the field overall and an efficient 50 percent from 3-point range, having converted 10 of his last 20 attempts.
Now that is how you silence the critics.
As impressive as those numbers are, the story doesn’t end there. Brewer is getting it done on the defensive end of the court as well. In fact, Brewer is averaging 2.7 steals per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup, recording at least two steals in four of those games.
Oh, and did I mention that OKC has won its last six games with Brewer in the starting lineup and the team currently sits in the fourth spot in the conference playoff race? Yes, the chances of such a winning streak increase when the best player on the roster (Russell Westbrook) has posted five consecutive triple-doubles during that span, but Brewer has made a positive impact in the short time he’s been with the team.
Although Brewer’s insertion into the starting lineup seemed questionable at best, as far as Donovan was concerned, it was a no-brainer.
"“There was no learning with Corey,” Donovan told CNHI Sports Oklahoma. “I know who Corey is as a person, as a player. I think he knows who I am as a coach…He’s done a great job integrating himself into the team and figuring out where he can make an impact.”"
Can Brewer continue to be a difference-maker at both ends of the court? The jury is still out on that one.
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If that is the case, the Thunder are in position to go on a deep postseason run – something that wasn’t a certainty following Roberson’s injury.