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Oklahoma City Thunder
Merry Christmas and welcome back to The Graham Jam newsletter! Thank you as always for beginning your week with us.
As this is the last newsletter to be delivered before Christmas, I'd like to wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday. May Santa give you exactly what you wished for.
You may be tired of hearing this, but it's true: the Thunder just had another crazy and historic week. They only played two games but oh, baby, what games they were.
On Wednesday, Oklahoma City matched up with New Orleans at home. The game turned into a slog, frankly, with the referees blowing a quick whistle despite the lax officiating we've grown used to this season. And with New Orleans clinging to a three-point lead at the end, both teams started fouling the other and burning their timeouts. It was a tough watch, but all rewarded when OKC inbounded to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 4.5 seconds left. New Orleans tried to foul but the whistle didn't come this time, and Shai nailed a clutch, deep 3-pointer to tie the game at 110 and send the game to overtime.
Well, almost. With no timeouts, New Orleans inbounded the ball to Devonte Graham. He turned and launched from 61 feet as time expired — and hit the shot. It was the longest game-winner at the fourth-quarter buzzer in NBA history. The fans were stunned, and SGA was devastated.
But he didn't have to wait long. On Saturday, after the Clippers hung tough all night without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, they entered the final seconds with a hard-fought two-point lead. But SGA hit a step-back 3 at the buzzer to put the Thunder over the top, 104-103, and redeem Wednesday's improbable loss.
It was a fun week to be a Thunder columnist, let me tell ya.
In this week's Graham Jam newsletter, we'll unpack Coach Mark Daigneault's recent metaphor about Skittles and broccoli, look ahead to next week's games, and play a slightly different version of Tank Time. Let's get to it!
Last week
12/15: New Orleans 113, Thunder 110, HOME
12/18: Thunder 104, Los Angeles Clippers 103, HOME
Skittles and broccoli
One player I haven't mentioned so much in The Graham Jam this year is Aleksej Pokusevski, as he's been coming off the bench and averaging less than 15 minutes per game this season. That's a surprising development to some, as Poku started 28 games last year, but those came primarily in the injury-depleted back half of the season. Poku flashed promise last year, to be sure, but also immaturity. So this season, as with most of the Thunder roster, has been about development.
Last week Poku was sent down to the G League for the first time this season, getting action with the Oklahoma City Blue before getting recalled to the big club. Daigneault has made clear before that a Blue assignment shouldn't be viewed as a demotion. Still, when asked about Poku he was adamant that the 19-year-old Serbian is right on track.
"He's in a different place than he was last year. He's a better player, no question," Daigneault said, citing "decision-making" and a more "durable" body as particular areas where Poku has progressed. "He doesn't seem as 'wet-noodley' as he was at times last year."
Then, using a metaphor he has pulled out for Tre Mann in the past, Daigneault said sound player development might not be headline-grabbing, but is crucially important — like broccoli. And all those flashy plays and high hopes are just Skittles.
"Tre Mann is focused on his broccoli, and so is Poku," Daigneault said. "I think there is a tendency to get excited about players, and to want to press fast-forward on a process that is very arduous and slow, and gradual, and invisible. Progress does not happen with these huge jumps.
"Twitter is not a platform that is designed for progress. It's a platform that's designed for Skittles," he continued, calling out the social media platform often used by fans to share highlights and opinions. (By the way, give me a follow! @GrahamLDudley)
"Twitter is just Skittles everywhere, and if there's not Skittles you just make Skittles up. ... If you're focused on progress, progress is slow."
Certainly, there are Thunder fans frustrated with what they view as a regression from Poku and a diminishment of his role with the team. But Daigneault said Poku is actually ahead of where he expected Poku to be, developmentally, at this point.
Credit to Daigneault for doing things the right way. There is no guarantee, of course, that the slow-and-steady method will make Poku, or anyone else, a productive NBA player. But it probably gives him a much better chance than starting 82 games this season — being thrown to the wolves, so to speak.
That's an easy way to make those Skittles turn sour. One has to look no further than Darius Bazley to find an example of a player whose consistent playing time isn't turning him into a star.
Tank Time
We're going to play Tank Time a little differently this week. After all, there are months left in the season and plenty of opportunities for me to push a button on Tankathon.com and dream about what draft pick the Thunder might get (Just tried it again. Sixth! Darn).
We have played Tank Time three times so far and the Thunder were simulated to pick No. 2 in two of those tries and No. 7 in another. So assuming the Thunder have a great chance at a great pick, I thought we'd take a few weeks to learn about the top prospects being pined over for the 2022 NBA Draft.
This week: Paolo Banchero.
Banchero is a 6-10 forward from Seattle who is currently playing his freshman year at Duke. At a time when top draft prospects are sometimes skipping the college game, Banchero went a very traditional route as the country's No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 class, signing with a blueblood college powerhouse for what will likely be his only season in school.
Banchero grew up playing the point before hitting his growth spurt. The result is that he's very comfortable handling the ball and still brings it up frequently at Duke. But of course, the Thunder don't need a point guard; they need a big man who's a threat on both ends, who can shoot and stretch the floor. Banchero checks the boxes. He is averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, while also shooting better than 34% from deep.
There will be questions about Banchero, and though he is projected No. 1 by many he is not a consensus top pick by any means. Will his shooting translate to the next level? That will be a key concern for any team, including the Thunder. And Banchero's legal troubles won't help — he was charged in November with "aiding and abetting" a DWI after teammate Michael Savarino was arrested for driving drunk in Banchero's SUV, while Banchero was in the back seat.
Still, Banchero will almost certainly be one of the first players off the board this summer and the Thunder aim to be in the mix. OKC has a surfeit of guards, and must be excited about the big men in this draft class. The only question is, will they be in position to take one?
That's all from me this week, folks. Merry Christmas! I'll leave you with the Thunder's Christmas week slate of games. Thunder Up!
This week
12/20: Thunder @ Memphis, 7 p.m., Bally Sports Oklahoma
12/22: Thunder vs. Denver, 7 p.m., BSOK
12/23: Thunder @ Phoenix, 8 p.m., BSOK
12/26: Thunder vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m., BSOK