3 Oklahoma City Thunder players who need to be given more minutes
After signing Paul George to a long-term contract extension last summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 18/19 season with renewed confidence, looking to end the dominance of the Golden State Warriors.
Fast forward six months and the Warriors are still the heavy favourites to win a third straight Championship, although NBA analysts such as ESPN's Stephen A. Smith have seen enough to declare the Thunder as the biggest threat to Steve Kerr's side.
Nevertheless, despite being one of the NBA's most impressive teams for much of the season, the Thunder have recently stuttered, losing four of their last five games. Billy Donovan has also yet to establish a consistent rotation, and a number of OKC players are failing to receive the minutes that their performances have warranted.
So, as we enter the final stretch of the season, here are three Thunder players that should be handed more playing time.
#3 Hamidou Diallo
After spending one season playing basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats, Hamidou Diallo was selected by the Brooklyn Nets as the 48th pick of the 2018 NBA draft. Following the draft, the 20-year-old bounced around a number of teams, before eventually being signed by the Thunder in July, and by October, Diallo had made his NBA debut against the Golden State Warriors, scoring four points.
In the following months, Diallo continued to receive good minutes in Billy Donovan's rotation and in November, Diallo recorded a career-high 18 points against Sacramento Kings. For the season, Diallo is averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game, although the shooting guard has barely featured in 2019, and Diallo played just fifteen minutes throughout March.
With Alex Abrines no longer with the franchise, and Abdel Nader struggling to have much of an impact, the path is clear for Diallo to enjoy a sustained run until the end of the season, although it remains to be seen if Billy Donovan will turn to the 2019 NBA Dunk Contest Champion.
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