Pokusevski's G League Stint Leads To Call Up

On Jan. 31, Oklahoma City announced the recalling of Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Robinson-Earl has been seeing serious time with the Thunder, even starting most of the games that he’s played in. Poku has struggled to find court time this year, as he hasn’t taken the leap that many expected him to.

While the Serbian talent is too young to count out, his development seems to have gone stagnant. Poku is an inconsistent shooter that simply makes too many mistakes. When the Thunder sent him to the G League last year, it sparked his best stretch of the NBA season. OKC was hoping this would be a repeat.

In the G League, Poku’s numbers were similar to his numbers last year in the G League, but they weren’t great. He averaged 7.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 12 games with the OKC Blue.

One of his best performances was his last one, where he recorded nine points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. In Poku’s positive performances, he can really stuff the stat sheet like that.

In his 12 game stint in the G League, his percentages fluctuated and his numbers were ultimately down from last year’s G League run. Poku shot just 37.5% from the floor and 23.8% from deep for the Blue. While his turnovers were down, his assists were down too from 4 to 2.6.

There have still been progress moments and crazy Poku passes that we’re all used to, but it seems like there’s less of them. Because his development hasn’t taken the next step, in the NBA or in the G League, he’s starting to get less and less opportunities. With injuries down the stretch, and the Thunder potentially electing to tank, Pokusevski could make a late season surge once again.

This late season surge feels more unlikely, though, as it seems he has declined in year two. Teams have film on him and know how to guard him now, which is why year two in the NBA is always a hard transition.

If Poku wants to carve out a consistent role the second half of this season, he has to cut out the unnecessary turnovers and become a more consistent shooter from 3-point range. If the 7-footer could take smart open shots and knock a few down, he could really help the Thunder going forward. Especially without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s out with an ankle injury, they will need to get their scoring elsewhere.

Poku’s stint in the G League these past few weeks was not promising. His game mirrored the one we saw last season and it was hard to see developments or improvements. If his time in the G League can spark solid second half play this season, though, he can receive consistent minutes on the Thunder once again.

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