OKC Thunder: Injury updates, offensive upgrade highlight 5 keys of Sam Presti presser
By Rylan Stiles
Starting power forward:
Another burning question has been: “Who will start at power forward for the OKC Thunder?”
Can the Thunder really keep Jerami Grant on the bench after inking him to a 3-year 27-million dollar deal? Is Patrick Patterson even good? and so on and so forth.
Sam Presti briefly touched on this situation.
Presti on Patrick Patterson as the starting power forward: “We have to let Billy make those decisions. I know he likes both of those players (Patterson and Grant).”
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) September 20, 2018
Presti on Patrick Patterson/Jerami Grant: "Billy is in charge of making the calls, making the decisions. Billy has always found ways to create value for players regardless of their position."
— Brady Trantham (@BradyDoesSports) September 20, 2018
I think Patrick Patterson will get the starting nod. Patterson was criminally mis-used a year ago, playing out of position and out of rhythm for most of the season while dealing with a knee issue. All of that will be resolved and OKC will be glad they have a floor spacing four in the lineup.
For Jerami Grant, he is a very good player, but the spark he provides off the bench just can not be taken away from this team. Patterson just fits better with a starting lineup desperate for shooters, especially when every starter is healthy.