With the Thunder short on players, Deonte Burton has been a welcomed addition to the lineup.
The Thunder have dealt with various injuries and other ailments recently as Russell Westbrook has been in and out of the lineup while the team will be without Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo for the next eight to 12 days due to sprained ankles.
In addition, Alex Abrines returned to the lineup on Friday after missing some time due to an illness and Nerlens Noel even missed a game due to an illness as well.
As the Thunder struggle to stay healthy, the team has kept Burton close by. He is signed to a two-way contract and is eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Thunder as he’ll spend the majority of the season with the OKC Blue of the G League.
He has played with the Thunder for the past six games in a row and recorded a career-high 11 points, two rebounds and two assists on Friday night in a win over the Hornets.
Teammate Paul George has noticed his recent play.
“[He] does a little bit of everything,” George said. “I classify him as a ballplayer; you don’t really put a position on him. He is just a hooper and you put him out there and he is going to make things happen. We have a couple of guys like that on this team who are positionless but when they get in that game, their talent comes out and it shows. He is a talented guy for us.”
Prior to recording a career-high on Friday night, Burton previously had a career-high of seven points against the Knicks and he scored six points against the Warriors.
Burton is averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocks in four games for the Blue.