2020-21 Oklahoma City Thunder Preseason Game Thread | December 12 - December 18

Post #21 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:15 am

thedoppelganger wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
thedoppelganger wrote:It's really unfortunate Poku doesn't get a normal summer league, full offseason/training camp heading into his rookie season. Kid is incredibly raw and has made a bunch of face palm inducing plays already. Would've been nice if he could go to the G League for a bit, but no chance we send him down to Atlanta.

Ya I really hope we don’t shatter his confidence before we get a chance to teach him how to play.

Early days, but his confidence levels seem to be more Hezonja levels than rookie Sabonis. I'm betting he's been told not to worry about mistakes at this point, especially since we seem to be putting the ball in his hands a fair amount. The positive thing is you can tell he has decent handles/skillset for his size.

But Maledon I'm all the way in on already, his vision has been really impressive.

Agree on both points. Theo had two fantastic passes that should have been assists but the shot was blown.

Mickey8 · Post #22 » by **Mickey8** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:21 am

Pokusevski body is just bad ,being so frail , physically over matched, he has to work on the strength , get some mass , he has confidence ,taking shots, trying things even though most of them ended up bad.

jake_swivel · Post #23 » by **jake_swivel** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:25 am

ThunderBolt wrote:Ya I really hope we don’t shatter his confidence before we get a chance to teach him how to play.

He needs to be in the G-league.

Post #24 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:26 am

Overall it was an interesting night. Theo stole the show. It’s hard not to be really excited. Shai struggled early but looked good once he got it going. I thought he made some really nice passes. Frank Jackson is Dennis Schroder. Poku has some work to do but I’m going to be patient with him. He was still 5-12, 4-8 from three in his first game. Probably won’t get 18 points from Muscala in 17 minutes. TJ leaf has a belly. Admiral looks like a bigger clone of Dort. I thought he got his teeth knocked out. Lastly...Theo.

Post #25 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:29 am

jake_swivel wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:Ya I really hope we don’t shatter his confidence before we get a chance to teach him how to play.

He needs to be in the G-league.

I got a laugh at the spurs announcers saying we need to feed him at half time.

Post #26 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:36 am

Read on Twitter

jambalaya · Post #27 » by **jambalaya** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 3:35 am

8 guys with good boxscore stats. Muscala perfect shooting. A win. Nobody hurt to my knowledge. That's good.

Old Man Game · Post #28 » by **Old Man Game** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 3:49 am

I'm having to remind myself its just one preseason game for both rookies but for different reasons.

Theo - It's just one preseason game, no way this dude is going to be throwing those sick skip passes for open wing threes and getting into the lane with total impunity against NBA regulars.

Poku - It's just one preseason game. He won't be this completely lost all season.

Oh by the way, re: Poku's height, I think we were lied too. Wasn't he supposed to be 7'2"? Dude looked shorter than Aldridge. About the same as Trey Lyles.

Mickey8 · Post #29 » by **Mickey8** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:07 am

He's clearly taller than both of them, I don't know what were you looking at, maybe beacuse he's so thin you have an impression that he's smaller , he's legit 7 footer .

namlede · Post #30 » by **namlede** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:22 am

Poku actually impressed me. He looked more mobile than his fiba tape. You can see the raw talent, tall, mobile, ball handling, shooting, passing. He made some dumb plays but he is younger than most college freshman. Give him some time.

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namlede · Post #31 » by **namlede** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:30 am

Also Roby really impressed me. He had 3 traveling calls but other than that he played a really smart game on both ends. Smart player with good size and athleticism.

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Old Man Game · Post #32 » by **Old Man Game** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:44 am

Mickey8 wrote:He's clearly taller than both of them, I don't know what were you looking at, maybe beacuse he's so thin you have an impression that he's smaller , he's legit 7 footer .

You're telling me when he lined up to rebound while Aldridge was shooting free throws a few feet away he looked taller than him to you?

spearsy23 · Post #33 » by **spearsy23** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:09 am

One preseason game is probably too early for me to take my maledon victory lap, right?

jake_swivel · Post #34 » by **jake_swivel** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:14 am

namlede wrote:Also Roby really impressed me. He had 3 traveling calls but other than that he played a really smart game on both ends. Smart player with good size and athleticism.

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I only saw the second half, but it's super weird that I wasn't impressed by either of these dudes at all. Difference in perspective is a crazy thing.

jake_swivel · Post #35 » by **jake_swivel** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:14 am

spearsy23 wrote:One preseason game is probably too early for me to take my maledon victory lap, right?

Don't let anyone tell you when you can or can't exercise.

Sea2003 · Post #36 » by **Sea2003** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:27 am

Old Man Game wrote:
Mickey8 wrote:He's clearly taller than both of them, I don't know what were you looking at, maybe beacuse he's so thin you have an impression that he's smaller , he's legit 7 footer .

You're telling me when he lined up to rebound while Aldridge was shooting free throws a few feet away he looked taller than him to you?

He's listed as 7'0 on the team website

Old Man Game · Post #37 » by **Old Man Game** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:32 am

Sea2003 wrote:
Old Man Game wrote:
Mickey8 wrote:He's clearly taller than both of them, I don't know what were you looking at, maybe beacuse he's so thin you have an impression that he's smaller , he's legit 7 footer .

You're telling me when he lined up to rebound while Aldridge was shooting free throws a few feet away he looked taller than him to you?

He's listed as 7'0 on the team website

I'll be happy to be wrong if he is in fact 7 foot. And maybe a somewhat grainy stream isn't the best way of viewing him at this juncture. I just thought he looked closer to Lyles than Aldridge or Poeltl.

Post #38 » by **retrobro90** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:54 am

Theo was filthy tonight. Just abundantly savvy for a teenager.

a-French-Fan · Post #39 » by **a-French-Fan** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 7:48 am

Absolutely not surprised by Maledon even if I didn't expect 20 pts for his first game.
His game is clean, because each time he had a TO he was benched with Mitrovic (during this time Jaka Lakovic allowed K. Hayes as many TOs as possible). If you are surprised of his maturity, remind that he had a true role as a PG in Euroleague (not Eurocup), although he was benched each time he made a mistake.

I didn't expect him to be nervous like Hayes for his first preseason game because he is really a cold blood man. He doesn't often show his emotions, don't worry about this.
I was afraid that he wouldn't be enough agressive, because he is a smooth guy and unselfish. I was wrong. And if he keep agressive, he will get foul calls, and with his FT% he will have a lot of opportunities.

Of course like the coach said, it was only first game and he will have bad games, but I was not surprised this morning to see what he did this night.

Post #40 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 10:07 am

a-French-Fan wrote:Absolutely not surprised by Maledon even if I didn't expect 20 pts for his first game.
His game is clean, because each time he had a TO he was benched with Mitrovic (during this time Jaka Lakovic allowed K. Hayes as many TOs as possible). If you are surprised of his maturity, remind that he had a true role as a PG in Euroleague (not Eurocup), although he was benched each time he made a mistake.

I didn't expect him to be nervous like Hayes for his first preseason game because he is really a cold blood man. He doesn't often show his emotions, don't worry about this.
I was afraid that he wouldn't be enough agressive, because he is a smooth guy and unselfish. I was wrong. And if he keep agressive, he will get foul calls, and with his FT% he will have a lot of opportunities.

Of course like the coach said, it was only first game and he will have bad games, but I was not surprised this morning to see what he did this night.

How do you think he compares to Hayes?