OKC Thunder youngsters impressive in victorious preseason debut – Player Grades

When the OKC Thunder added Frank Jackson I was pretty hyped. Although his two seasons with the Pelicans didn’t offer much to be excited about he was stuck in a situation where he was playing behind Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, and other guards.

Moreover, the Pelicans didn’t utilize a system where they featured multiple guards. This is precisely where this note begins – Jackson was on the court either playing with SGA or Maledon. If you still have access to the game watch back how he’s constantly moving or repositioning for his teammates.

Case in point – while it seemed like Theo Maledon had copious assists he only registered two and BOTH were to Jackson.

The versatility in his offensive game hasn’t been fully tapped.  Jackson can drive, hit from mid-range and deep, and as a point guard has exceptional passing skills. With the combination of those values, he should seamlessly fit into this upbeat system. Moreover, having Jackson to work alongside Maledon will allow Daigneault to have a secondary playmaker on the court with the rookie.

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It’s presumed Presti will trade George Hill (who looked great with SGA for what it’s worth) which is yet another reason to keep Jackson on this squad.

The Duke alum simply hasn’t had a chance to show his full repertoire and shine in his role. I believe he’ll discover that with the OKC Thunder.

In his debut with the Thunder, he scored 14 points, grabbed two rebounds, dished two dimes, and registered a steal. His shooting splits were solid 54 percent from the field (6 of 11) and 50 percent from deep (2 of 4). The reason he doesn’t get the “A” grade was the five turnovers which he’ll need to clean up.

If Jackson’s debut was a sign of things to come he should be a shoo-in to make the team.

Honorable mention to T.J. Leaf who also had an impressive debut with eight points and five rebounds.

The ESPN box score can be found here. Next up the Thunder host their former bench boss Billy Donovan and his Bulls in consecutive games at Chesapeake on Wednesday and Friday.