Dort Injury Opens Doors for Young Guards in Preseason
Lu Dort’s injury is unfortunate, as it pairs with Chet Holmgren’s and Shai Gilgeous- Alexander’s injuries.
However the injury isn’t without its positives. It’s never fully good that a player gets injured, but the injury opens up windows for younger players to help grow their roles in the preseason.
With Gilgeous-Alexander already out, now two guards will get the chance to play in their places and get more minutes then they’d expect with those players healthy.
Jalen Williams will see a good boost in time while Dort is out. Williams showed the boost in a nice outing against the Nuggets on Monday to open the preseason.
Williams, a rookie from Santa Clara, needs time to grow into the system and the league, especially with a big role looking him down when the regular season begins.
The Thunder’s young guards got a small taste of NBA game which helps in the long run, as expected there were some hiccups but the defense was a major takeaway.
Without the Dort injury the young players may not have gotten the early minutes they did. In the preseason the young group would be expected to get a good chunk of time, but without key starters they get a bump up in the rotation.
Tre Mann earned his chance to get increased minutes with the SGA injury and made it count showing off his space creation ability and downhill speed against the Nuggets on Monday.
The Thunder preseason is officially underway, which marks one more chance to see the growth of the young lineup and the experience is bolstered with the injuries to the starters.
Injuries aren’t a good thing especially for a team trying to grow in cohesiveness but there are positives to take away from it especially with rookies getting more looks.
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