OKC Thunder: 3 takeaways from statement win over Mavericks
By Ryan Lewis
OKC Thunder takeaway No. 2) Pokusevski continues his climb towards the top
Pokusevski has earned his fair share of criticism since debuting for the OKC Thunder. Some of that criticism is warranted, and some of it is a bit premature.
He’s nowhere close to his final form, and he has been considered a long-term project for the Thunder, but Pokusevski’s rise to the top might come sooner than we think.
Pokusevski’s shot still needs to be developed — there is no denying that. His accuracy is sporadic, at best, and he leaves many shots short of the target. A lot of that, however, could be due to nerves.
It’s not easy adjusting to life in the NBA, and no matter how many games one might play, there are still many players who contend with pre-game nerves. That could be Poku’s problem.
On Thursday, the rookie scored 14 points on 36.4 percent shooting. He hit two of his six shots from deep and made all four of his free throw shots.
It might not seem like progress, but considering he is the same player who missed every shot he took for the first two games, it’s hard not to see that his development is trending in a positive direction.
It’s worth mentioning that Pokusevski’s value extends far beyond scoring.
The forward finished with eight rebounds in the game, three of which came on the offensive glass.
Just between Brown and Pokusevski, the OKC Thunder picked up eight offensive rebounds. In fact, every player but Theo Maledon contributed in that department to give the Thunder 16 on the night, which is a pretty big deal for the Thunder as they’ve consistently ranked close to last in the NBA in offensive rebounds, averaging just 7.9 per game.