Pokusevski Injury Spells Opportunity For Thunder

Amid injuries to Aleksej Pokusevski, Ousmane Dieng, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, minutes in the front court appear to be up for grabs. Who will stand to benefit?

On Wednesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced that Aleksej Pokusevski had sustained a “non-displaced tibial plateau fracture” and will be re-evaluated in approximately six to eight weeks. The injury happened after the seven-foot forward landed awkwardly in the Thunder’s match against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

This marks the third injury to a frontcourt player for the Thunder in just 15 days' time. On December 15th, the Thunder announced rookie forward Ousmane Dieng also sustained a non-displaced fracture – to his right wrist – and would be re-evaluated in six weeks. Since then, Dieng has missed 10 games.

With Pokusevski out for the foreseeable future, the Oklahoma City Thunder no longer have a healthy 7-footer on the entire roster.

— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) December 29, 2022

And on December 12th, second-year forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl suffered a severe ankle injury in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Since then, Robinson-Earl has missed seven games and no timetable has been given for his return.

But wherever there are injuries, there is also opportunity. Both Pokusevski and Robinson-Earl had been averaging a little over 21 minutes of action per game. Now, the Thunder’s Head Coach, Mark Daigneault, will need to decide on how to fill those 42 minutes in the front court for the foreseeable future.

There is no magic crystal ball to tell us how Daigneault and his coaching staff might approach such a situation, but there are a few ideas that make a lot of sense.

Have a day, Jaylin Williams🔥

He logged his first-career TRIPLE-DOUBLE to help lead the @okcblue to a win! pic.twitter.com/VCy8DQopr1

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 27, 2022

If the Thunder want to use this opportunity to further develop their younger players, expect those minutes to go to Jaylin Williams and Tre Mann. Williams is coming off a monster triple-double performance in the G League, has played just 61 minutes with the Thunder, and has the size at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds to better contend with opposing front courts.

Jalen Williams, not to be confused with Jaylin Williams, has played 822 minutes – the fourth most for Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, Mann has played only 580 minutes and this could be the perfect opportunity for the second-year guard to find his footing and get his offense going. Daigneault will just have to get a little creative with lineups.

Tre Mann’s ability to create space is SPECIAL, and it was on full display Tuesday in OKC’s win over the Spurs. #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/PkDwfWOrqJ

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) December 28, 2022

If the franchise wants to get a closer look at players on expiring contracts with the NBA Trade Deadline approaching, they may want to give Mike Muscala and Darius Bazley a heavier workload.

Muscala, a 31-year-old stretch big, has been a big piece of some of Oklahoma City’s most productive offensive lineups. But as good of a shooter, as he is, it’s no secret that he might not be a part of the Thunder’s long-term plans. After all, the franchise can decline his salary for next season, making him a free agent, and his age doesn’t line up with the second-youngest team in NBA history. This might be the perfect opportunity to boost his trade value ahead of the Trade Deadline.

After playing just the 10th most minutes for Oklahoma City this season, it appears that Bazley’s time wearing a Thunder jersey is all but over. The fourth-year forward hasn’t progressed as much as many have hoped, but Bazley still has quite a bit to offer. And the front office may decide they want to give the former first-round pick one last hoorah to prove his worth to the Thunder, or another NBA team.

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