The Oklahoma City Thunder took a surprising leap in the playing cycle, knocking out the ninth seed New Orleans Pelicans before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here are four Thunder players whose arrow is facing up or down.
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Gilgos Alexander Tea: The trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers is looking better for Oklahoma City every month. Not only did OKC have five first-round picks and two trades, but they also got Gilgeous-Alexander, who made his first All-Star team last season.
SGA averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting more than 50 percent from the floor. He was a relentless tackler, driving to the hoop with a league-leading 23.9 times a game – Ja Morant was second with 20.3. He shoots nearly 11 free throws per game and makes more than 90 percent of his shots missed, making him one of the most efficient offensive weapons in the NBA.
Arguably he has been a better player than George since the trade. Although a foot injury limited Gilgios Alexander to 35 matches in 2020-21, he still played 40 more games than George. He averaged more points (24.7 to 23.2), more assists, shot a higher percentage from the field and turned the ball over less (2.5 per game vs. 3.2 for George). Plus, he’s eight years younger, and he won’t be 25 until this summer.
SGA is the cornerstone of franchising. Paul George’s trade also provided a lot of building blocks.
Jalen Williams: One of the picks from that deal became a lottery pick when the Clippers missed the playoffs in 2022. OKC got No. 12 with Jalen Williams of Santa Clara — not to be confused with Jalen Williams of Arkansas, who the Thunder took in the second round.
Williams was a revelation, making the All-Rookie first team and finishing second to Paolo Banchero in the 2010s Newbie voice of the year. Like Gilgos Alexander, he reaches the hoop often, taking 37 percent of his shots within three feet of the basket, and Shooting at 70 percent On the edge. His steal rate was 2.1 percent, second only to the SGA, and unlike his teammate, Williams became a long-range threat late in the season, hitting 42.9 percent on his three-pointers after the All-Star break.
Thunder got a player who can score efficiently, who doesn’t ask for the ball and who can defend the guards or small forwards. If his three-point improvement is real, OKC could have a future All-Star team.
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Alexey Bokosevsky: Known as “Poku,” the 7-foot-1, 205-pound Pokusevski is one of the strangest and most interesting prospects in the NBA. On a team full of skinny players, Poku might be the tallest and skinniest. He struggled in his first two seasons after the Thunder was traded for him in 2020 – Poku was given a 17th place finish. He spent significant time in the G League in his first two seasons, where his offense was pretty rough.
This year, Poku has started hitting three-pointers, going 36.5 percent from depth, reducing his turnover and blocking twice as many shots as last year. But after 31 games and 25 starts, he fractured his tibia and played only three more games.
He showed his potential last season, but on the Thunder, a team full of young talent, players simply don’t get much time to make an impact. Excluding the trade, Thunder will add another lottery pick in No. 12, two second-round picks in No. 37 and No. 50. In addition, he’ll return as a very skilled and skinny big guy, Chet Holmgren. He has one year left on his rookie deal, but don’t be surprised if Poku is on a new team next fall.
If there: Dort could be an excellent defender on the outside perimeter, but he’s had an up and down offensive season with the Thunder. Part of that was wildly inconsistent three-point shooting. Overall, Dort hit 33 percent of his triple-doubles, but his percentages swung wildly. In January, he landed 44.1% on his three-pointers. In March and April, it was 28.3 percent.
The most worrisome problem is Dort shooting over the edge, making only 48.1 percent of his shots. This puts it in lowest 6 percent Among the wings – and it was bad at that all his career.
Additionally, the advanced stats do not support Dort’s defensive reputation. He considered a minus in the square plus/minus points, and the Thunder are a little worse with him on the field. This may be a testament to OKC’s solid bench rather than an indictment of Dort, but he didn’t lock up a starting spot. In Oklahoma City, there are always more possibilities coming up.