Oklahoma
Ajay Mitchell is Making an Instant Impact for the Oklahoma City Thunder
Despite being on a championship contender and the best team in the Western conference, Ajay Mitchell has been a relatively prominent feature in an Oklahoma City Thunder rotation that has double-digit players logging over 10 minutes per game. The second-round draft pick is currently sitting at 13.9 minutes per game, more than third-year player Ousmane Dieng and over double what first-round pick Dillon Jones is averaging.
He’s been making the most of these minutes all season long, averaging 4.8 points, 2.0 assists and one stock (steals plus blocks) on 62.6% true shooting in those 14 minutes. These aren’t just garbage-time minutes either, he’s getting legitimate playing time in select games, one of those being on Friday night versus the Houston Rockets. In 20 minutes (including eight non-garbage time minutes, as categorized by PBP Stats), Mitchell logged 12 points, seven assists, and thee steals while shooting 4-for-4 on twos and 1-for-2 on threes.
Ajay Mitchell vs Houston Rockets Highlights
12 PTS Another win in the draft for OKC pic.twitter.com/sL9GeCt72q — 𝐙 (@homahoops) November 9, 2024
2 REB
7 AST
3 STL
5-6 FGM
His pace has distinctly popped and is something that’s translated to the NBA from UC Santa Barbara. He possesses special change of pace and change of direction abilities, with shiftiness somewhat reminiscent of Jalen Brunson coming out of Villanova. Of course, he’s not anywhere near the level of shotmaker Brunson was, but he still has great touch that shows in his interior finishes, floaters, and jump shots, all of which pair beautifully with his pace.
While it may seem that way, the translation to the NBA wasn’t seamless by any means for Mitchell though. And as a rookie, he still hasn’t fully figured it of course. He mentioned that he’s still learning how to pace himself and read defenses at this level, and that he’s learning a lot from teammates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
Ajay Mitchell says the pace is what’s struck him most about this level. Mentioned he’s learning to read defenses from SGA and Jalen Williams.
Asked what those film sessions look like: “It’s crazy how they dissect the game.” pic.twitter.com/aTZFliwYoz
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) November 9, 2024
Learning from those two as a creator with his innate intersection of functional athleticism (flexibility, stability, change of direction) and touch is exciting to think about, and the early returns have already been amazing.
Despite being drafted with the 38th overall pick, Mitchell seems to be yet another win for Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they add another potential win-now guard with tons of creation upside. The Thunder proves yet again why every draft pick matters and why winning on the margins matters. Keep in mind this is the team that drafted Aaron Wiggins at No. 55 in 2021, who just signed a five-year, $47-million contract this past offseason and is currently sixth in minutes per game and fourth in points per game on the team.
Who’s to say Mitchell won’t be in a similar position three years from 2024?
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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