by DARNELL MAYBERRY, DMAYBERRY@OPUBCO.COM , The Oklahoman

Well, the Thunder's newest big man on Sunday night got his first real chance to reveal to Oklahoma City which category he falls into. And against a bigger, more athletic Portland frontline, the 6-foot-10 Thomas proved legit.

The Thunder has found its enforcer, the guy who prevents nightly layup drills and makes opponents think a split second longer before dashing down the lane or mouthing off.

"He's not a fake tough guy," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Thomas after his team's 83-74 loss to the Blazers. "He's going to give you everything he has. We like that effort that he brings. He gives us a toughness that we like and use in a very positive way. He's not going to back down from who's on the floor."

On the floor Sunday was Greg Oden, the Blazers' 7-foot No. 1 overall pick in 2007. His backup, the 7-foot-1 inch Joel Pryzbilla, is one of the best rebounding centers around. The duo, along with starting power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, helped Portland finish last season as the best rebounding team in the league with a plus-5.4 rebounding differential.

Thomas clashed down low with all three, playing so effectively that Brooks could give starting center Nenad Krstic only 10 second-half minutes on a night the Thunder desperately needed Krstic's shooting.

Thomas finished with four points, nine rebounds and one block in 26 minutes. But if ever there was a player who's value doesn't show up in the stat sheet it's Thomas.

He jostled with Oden the entire night, in the paint and in transition. And Thomas gave him a piece of his mind throughout, often with words but once with actions.

After one play, with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, Thomas gave Oden a timely shove in the back after the Blazers' big man committed a hard foul on Jeff Green. On another trip, Thomas was the first one to walk up to guard Andre Miller and play peacemaker or instigator following Miller's hard foul on Nick Collison.

Both players backed down, quickly turning to walk the other way.

"There's no question there's a lot of pseudo tough guys in the league that want to act tough because no one's really going to fight because there is a lot of money given up for fights," Brooks said.

The Blazers won the rebounding battle by just one board Sunday night and shot 40.6 percent to the Thunder's 34.3 percent clip. Now compare those categories to how the Thunder fared in its three losses to the Blazers last season.

Portland averaged 108.6 points to Oklahoma City's 82.3. The Blazers out-rebounded the Thunder by an average of 18.7 rebounds and averaged 11.6 more percentage points in field-goal shooting.

The improvement Sunday night can largely be attributed to Thomas' presence, which should pay off more and more as the season labors on.

"He's just clogs up the middle and that's what we've been missing," Green said.

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