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Matt’s Monday Musings – In growth we trust

By Matthew Hallett

Jan 26, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3) and Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3) and Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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OKC Thunder
January 18, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Abrines (8) during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 121-100. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Alex Abrines

After being drafted in the 2015, the OKC Thunder kept Alex Abrines in Spain to develop his game even further. That season after he was drafted, Abrines showed the Euroleague and the rest of the world that he is a special player. He hit 43.5 percent of his 4.0 three point attempts per game, helping him earn the Euroleague Rising Star Award over potential NBA Rookie of the Year Dario Saric.

European basketball is different from the NBA though; the athleticism required for the NBA is at a different level. European players can come over and struggle to deal with this, but Abrines showed us flashes of his play this year.

In the six games that he started he almost averaged nine points per game. It would have been more, but his defense is not at the level it needs to be yet to keep him on the floor for 30+ minutes a night. He fouled too often causing him to come out of games, even when his shot was going down.

I wondered during the early parts of the season whether Abrines – who has two years left on his contract – had done enough to justify trading Anthony Morrow. That question was answered when Morrow was shipped to Chicago with Cameron Payne and Joffrey Lauvergne for Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.

The offseason

I will be watching the Abrines offseason with incredible interest, and there are a number of reasons for this. If Abrines can do enough this offseason to convince Coach Billy Donovan and Sam Presti that he is good enough to start, we could see Victor Oladipo traded to another team.

Related Story: The completely true origin story of Alex Abrines

This will open up space in the salary cap to re-sign both Gibson and Roberson. If Kanter is traded as well, then the OKC Thunder could bring in another genuine superstar to pair with Westbrook to make them truly relevant in the Western Conference again.

Abrines needs to work on three things this offseason. He needs to work on his defense so that he is not exposed on that end like he was against the Houston Rockets.

The second thing that I want to see Abrines work on is creating off the dribble, be it for himself or others. This will mean that players will not be able to simply guard Abrines at the three point line, in turn opening up the floor for Westbrook. The 23-year old showed flashes, including a monster dunk over Cavs big man Tristan Thompson. But over 70% of his attempts this season came from three; that’s too high in this day and age.

The third thing that I want Abrines to work on is his three-point shot. Looking at his Europe stats, his percentages were increasing most seasons. If Abrines can get to 41 percent then he will be a top 20 three-point shooter in the league. This is a skill the OKC Thunder need more of.

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