The second-unit scorer is an NBA luxury.
He's a bench benefit, a reserve who can carry the offense in stretches when starters sit, a backup who gets buckets against often-overmatched second-string defenders.
So far this season, the Thunder's bench has flourished around a second-unit scorer.
It just happens that he's a starter.
Typically Carmelo Anthony is the starter who stars in stretches surrounded by backups. Sometimes it's Paul George. Whichever All-Star fills that role is easing the load on Oklahoma City's role players.
“When you have a team like we have, with the amount of superstars we have, it just makes it easier for everybody on the court and everybody on the team,” backup forward Jerami Grant said.