Aleksej Pokusevski Has Made His Case For the Starting Spot
Aleksej Pokusevski’s NBA career has been exactly what we expected it to be to this point: a project. Oklahoma City’s patience with Poku seems to paying off, though, after a strong slew of preseason games.
Even though Pokusevski was always viewed as a long term project, fans became anxious to see noticeable improvement on the floor. There were always signs and short bursts, but consistency was very hard to come by.
Now, in a big year for both Oklahoma City’s development and determining Pokusevski’s future with the Thunder, he looks like the most complete version of himself yet. He’s not going through the motions on either side of the floor and, more importantly, he’s not trying to do too much.
Through five preseason contests, Poku is averaging 9.4 points on 52% shooting from the floor and 39% from 3-point range. In addition, the point-forward has contributed 4.4 assists, five rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He’s impacting the game holistically like never before.
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Pokusevski’s ability to take care of the ball has visibly taken a huge leap. He’s finding open teammates, taking what the defense gives him and making the easy play. The added strength and weight looks to be helping on both ends, too.
After an off-season of improvement and signs of grown throughout exhibition matchups, Oklahoma City should reward Pokusevski with a starting spot.
Now that Chet Holmgren will miss the season’s entirety, the Thunder will need to use a variety of unique lineups once again. The most predictable lineup features Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at the center spot, but Pokusevski could star in his connecting role at the power forward. Oklahoma City plays positionless basketball anyways, and Pokusevski gives the Thunder another creative playmaker on the floor.
If he can continue to knock down open 3-pointers and put in solid effort on the defensive end, he might be a really solid fit in Oklahoma City’s unique starting lineup. It’s important to remember that Pokusevski is still just 20-years old, and would’ve been considered young in last summer’s NBA draft. He already has valuable NBA experience, and it seems like a good time for the Thunder to let him prove he’s ready.
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