OKC Thunder: Despite missing two games Aleksej Pokusevski has a positive week

OKC Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski missed two games due to the NBA’s concussion protocol but managed to finish the week on a positive note.

OKC Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski did not have the best start to his second week as an NBA professional. After playing the first game of the week against the Orlando Magic he had to sit out the next two games due to the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Pokusevski hit his head on one of his teammates’ knees and sustained a concussion during a training session. He missed the 28 point loss against the Miami Heat and the one point revenge victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Pokusevski rounded out the week by traveling to New York to take on the New York Knicks, coming away with the biggest victory of his fledgling NBA career. Let’s take a look at how Pokusevski learned and grew in the week.

The OKC Thunder start to see what they have in Aleksej Pokusevski.

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In the game against the Magic, Pokusevski had probably the worst stat lines of his young NBA career. He had two rebounds and a steal to go along with two turnovers in just over 14 minutes of game time.

Pokusevski only took a single 3-point field goal attempt in the game and was not able to connect. However, despite having such a quiet game, the Thunder were plus 12 during his time on the court. He was the link man on plays and helped space the floor. Sometimes the best play is to not make a play at all if someone else has a better play. This is a good lesson to learn.

However, in the game against the Knicks, Pokusevski put together a stat line. In my opinion, this is where he should be aiming every game. He scored seven points, had six rebounds and one block in just over 18 minutes.

Pokusevski took three attempts from deep, making one of them. The way that he scored the other points was heartening, to say the least. Young players when they come into the NBA seem to want to hit 3-point shots, this game Pokusevski shot from where he was comfortable.

On the first field goal, Pokusevski was in the perfect position to collect the offensive rebound and then simply went up hard, dunking the ball so that no one could stop him. His next score was an 18-foot jump shot where he came down and shot the ball in rhythm from straight on.

This is where Pokusevski needs to feast, where he is comfortable. The NBA 3-point line is longer than he is used to and the speed of the game is faster than he is used to. Pokusevski needs to look at the film of this game and take note of where he did well.