With the loss of superstar Kevin Durant in the offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder probably expected to get a little more out of players whose opportunities may have been a bit limited in the past. One of those guys is former Pitt center Steven Adams and the big man has mostly played well this year.
On offense, Adams is experiencing career-highs almost across the board. His minutes are up, playing about 30 minutes a game instead of the 25 or so he was playing in each of the past two seasons. As a result, Adams is scoring and rebounding more as both his 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds to date would both be career-bests, as would be his assist and steal totals - both just slightly over one per game. Without Durant, Adams is a larger part of the offense. He's getting over eight shots per game, which is easily the most he's had in any season during his career.
Perhaps most importantly, if you've not yet seen the videos he produces with fellow big man, Enes Kanter, you're missing out.
One area where there's room for improvement? On defense. He's been mostly solid, but admitted to having some lapses in a recent slide for the Thunder.
But overall, Adams is playing pretty well this season and he remains one of the team's key players beyond MVP candidate Russell Westbrook. He's now in his third consecutive year as Oklahoma City's starting center and carving out a nice career after his Pitt days.
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