No one wants to see a teammate go down with an injury. But the reality of professional sports is that when one person can’t play, it means there’s an opportunity for someone else.
Hamidou Diallo will be out for at least the next month thanks to the hyperextended right elbow that he suffered last Friday against the Lakers.
Although Diallo wasn’t a regular in the Thunder’s starting rotation, he was still averaging over 20 minutes a game, minutes that need to be filled.
Coaches often talk about a “next man up” mentality. In this case, the next man up is Abdel Nader.
Head coach Billy Donovan told Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman that Nader is “as good of a worker as I’ve ever been around”, but added that the second-year player “has a tendency to overthink”.
“And I think when guys start doing that, it kind of takes away that aggressiveness,” Donovan said. “So we’ve got to try to help him find a balance there.”
Donovan’s assessment isn’t exactly a secret. Nader himself admits that he does often overthink, a by-product of trying to secure in a spot in an Oklahoma City rotation that’s already heavy with wings and stretch forwards.
“I think that has a lot to do with it,” Nader said. “The unknown, right? When you’re trying to solidify yourself in the NBA, it’s not easy or else everybody would do it.”
Nader opened up about the work that he’s been putting in to try and improve his game, telling Mussatto that he’ll often stay at the Thunder’s practice facility until 3 o’clock in the morning.
“Almost every day whether it’s midnight and I can’t sleep or early in the morning before practice,” Nader said. “There’s always time. “I’m a little bit crazy when it comes to the work I’ve gotta put in. I wanna make sure my game feels tight — my shot, my handle, everything. That’s how I feel like I get better.”
Nader played 11 minutes in Oklahoma City’s 100-97 win over Golden State on Monday, scoring two points to go along with a rebound, an assist, and a block.