WATCH: Aleksej Pokusevski 'Great Developmental Case Study'
After spending his first season in Oklahoma City bouncing between the G-League team and the Thunder, Aleksej Pokusevski has begun to turn a corner according to Head Coach Mark Daigneault.
“He's more balanced on his shots and then like I've mentioned before the physical element of his durability, I mean, it's a long season when you're kind of that frame. He's significantly stronger and more put together and more able to handle the rigors of the season this year than last year,” Daigneault said.
As Pokusevski began his transition into the NBA it was very evident that the pace was too quick for him. By constantly tryouts ing to play catch up, his style began reading as unpredictable.
“He was kind of like a slot machine last year where it's like, you know, either win the prize or lose your life savings,” Diagneault said.
But after using this summer to gain some muscle and spending a month with the Blue, Pokusevski’s game seemed more confident.
During the month of February, Pokusevski averaged 11 points per game whereas before his trip to the Blue he was averaging 6.8.
As of late, OKC has gone without multiple players due to injury. Pokusevski has taken advantage of the additional playing time.
By improving his decision-making, his shot selection has definitely developed.
Daigneault said,“he’s gotten a better understanding of kind of what a floor game is and not having as many like loud, turnovers loud, you know, shots that don't have a very high chance of going in. He's just smoothed that out.”
Pokusevski has been finishing jump shots, making put-backs, getting out in transition, even sinking a couple threes.
In his last seven games he has shot 44.8 percent from the field, averaging 11.5 points per game, and recording 7 rebounds.
“He still looks confident aggressive out there, but he's doing so in a very controlled way,” Diagneault said. “So I give him a lot of credit.”
Grabbing more rebounds per game has been a vast improvement for this seven footer. This shows he’s learning to use his length correctly and has gotten stronger to snatch more rebounds against other NBA talent.
Recently against Utah, Pokusevski displayed one of his most impressive performances. Securing a double double, Pokusevski recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Even though his defense still needs work, Pokusevski looks very different from the beginning of the season. Thanks to his recent run, this player’s potential is trending up.
“He's a great developmental case study,”Diagneault said,”and he's just got to stay on it. You know, it's not going to be perfect. But this just shows that you know, if you just stay to your process and you hit it every day, you'll improve over time. If you fight through the ups and downs.”
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