Thunder slump offers teaching moments for Jerami Grant

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Author: Erik Horne / Source: NewsOK.com

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jerami Grant, right, pulls the ball away from Sacramento Kings guard Garrett Temple on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The Kings won 116-101. [AP Photo]
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jerami Grant, right, pulls the ball away from Sacramento Kings guard Garrett Temple on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The Kings won 116-101. [AP Photo]

DENVER – It was a conversation Russell Westbrook said was between he and Jerami Grant, but it was actually one worth sharing – a teaching moment in a season sure to be full of them.

After the Thunder’s last-minute loss to the Lakers on Tuesday, Jerami Grant dressed alongside Westbrook and asked for advice on his defense. On the game’s deciding play, the 22-year-old bit on a pump fake, forcing Victor Oladipo to slide inside to cover Grant’s man.

Grant’s man kicked out to the perimeter where Oladipo would have been. Nick Young caught the pass and launched a game-winner.

“I think it was just miscommunication,” Grant said. “We’ve all gotta talk as a group. Next time we get it, we’ll get it right.”

Grant is the type of long, athletic player the Thunder covets on defense, but as the young forward’s mental lapses on the Thunder’s road trip have shown, his basketball education is still ongoing.

In 13 games with the Thunder, Grant has surprised with a 47.1 percent 3-point percentage and added 1.1 blocks per game. It’s earned him an uptick in minutes – up to 20.2 in the last five games compared to 16 mpg in the previous five. He’s been deployed as a Serge Ibaka-esque defender who can guard in the post and defend on…

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