Jaylen

Hoard

The French-born Hoard appeared in a total of 39 games during his three NBA seasons, most recently playing for the Thunder. In seven games last season, he averaged 14.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 1.3 3-pointers in 34.3 minutes per. To say the least, Hoard made the most of the extended minutes he gained once the then-shorthanded Thunder were playing out the string.

The Thunder played just six guys on Sunday, and Simpson filled it up, but OKC got ran out of the building in this one. He shot 7-of-15 from the floor (1-of-3 3-pointers) and made both of his foul shots on the evening. Jaylen Hoard added 14 points on 6-of-20 shooting (1-of-6 3-pointers) with fifteen rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in 45 minutes. Georgios Kalaitzakis scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting (3-of-6 3-pointers) with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 48 minutes.

Hoard has been absolutely unreal lately, and he has now scored over 20 in three-straight games. In five games with the Thunder, he has grabbed at least 17 rebounds three times, which is insane considering he had appeared in just one NBA game before April. We’ll see Hoard one more time this season, and that will be on Sunday against the Clippers, so make sure he is active in your lineups.

Simpson is averaging 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in his two games this season and while the 11 dimes were helpful tonight, the 2-of-10 shooting was damaging. It’s hard to say what the Thunder will do going forward but if Simpson is starting on Friday, he’s worth a look in all formats. Isaiah Roby had 18-5-5 tonight with four 3-pointers, Jaylen Hoard had 23 points and a full stat line, including a career-high five 3-pointers, Georgios Kalaitzakis scored 11 in a start, and Vit Krejci had nine points, six boards and six assists in the loss. Jeremiah Robinson-Earle added 18 points and a couple threes tonight and Lindy Waters had 10 points and three 3-pointers in the loss. Pick a Thunder, any Thunder as long as they’re playing for OKC on Friday or Sunday.

Hoard kept his streak of career bests going with the five triples and is now averaging 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.8 3-pointers over his last four games and had 24 points and 21 rebounds in his previous game. He’s a total silly-season hero and might have won some fantasy championships with his stellar play in his last four games. And he’s only played in five games this season, the other of which was a zero-point performance in two minutes back in December. Unreal. There’s no reason to think he won’t keep it going on Friday and Sunday to finish out the season, as long as the Thunder let him play.

What is going on? Hoard had played in three games this season, scoring zero, 11 and four points in each of them, but did have a 20-rebound game in 40 minutes last Friday. If you happened to roll the dice on him tonight in any format, you win. The Thunder basically only played six players tonight as Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon and Aaron Wiggins all got a rest, and we are clearly in a code red ‘pick a Thunder, any Thunder (who’s starting)’ situation for their final three games (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday). The Thunder overcame a 19-point deficit and won the fourth quarter 31-12 in a fun win if you like watching G-League players go off in the NBA. Pick a Thunder, any Thunder.

The Thunder overcame a 19-point deficit by winning the fourth quarter 31-12, played just six guys (seven if you count Lindy Waters’ four minutes) and treated us to a guy named Jaylen Hoard racking up 24 points and 21 rebounds. This is why you end your leagues before the final week of the season. Roby’s previous high in blocks was three, while Georgios Kalaitzakis had a career-high 17 points and seven turnovers, Zavier Simpson had a career-high 10 points, five assists, a steal and two blocks, Vit Krejci had 11 points and a full stat line, and Olivier Sarr came off the bench for 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. See who’s starting for the Thunder on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and then act accordingly. Pick a starting Thunder, any starting Thunder.

This story is absurd, as Hoard was signed to a 10-day hardship waiver a little over two hours before the game started. He then made his first career start as the Thunder had only eight active players for this game. Hoard became just the eighth player in Thunder history to tally a 20-rebound game. Isaiah Roby also was solid, scoring 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting (6-of-8 free throws) and grabbed nine rebounds with three assists and one block in 35 minutes.

Hoard just signed a 10-day deal with OKC earlier today and now he’s starting in classic Thunder fashion. The Thunder only have nine guys available this evening, Hoard included, and if you learned anything from Wednesday, we could get silly season performances from any of them. Maledon and Roby remain the most consistent options, but at this point, it’s anyone’s guess who’s about to go off.

This team is so weird that seeing Hoard go off as soon as tonight wouldn’t even be that surprising. However, that doesn’t mean you should target him, especially with how many other OKC players there are to choose from.