High marks for defense, not offense
Josh Huestis barely had played his first two seasons with the Thunder. That changed this season, when Huestis started 10 games, played almost 1,000 minutes and showed himself to be a serviceable NBA player. Here are his grades:
Foul shooting
FHuestis took only five foul shots his first two seasons in the NBA and missed them all. That was not a fluke. This season, Huestis made just six of 20 from the line. That’s an abomination. Huestis was a poor foul shooter at Stanford (61 percent) and got worse in the G-League (57.8 percent). But he was abysmal this season.
Playing with stars
AAfter Andre Roberson’s injury, veteran Corey Brewer was signed and eventually played 344 minutes with Thunder stars Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams. The Thunder outscored foes by 2.2 points per 48 minutes with that lineup. Huestis played 175 minutes with that quartet, during which the Thunder outscored foes by 10.7 points per 48 minutes. Seems likely that he should have played more.
Rim protection
AA hidden value with Huestis is his shotblocking. Few players his size, 6-foot-7, can protect the rim like Huestis. His instincts are uncanny. Huestis block percentage of 4.0 (blocked shots per 2-point shots taken with him on the court) is excellent. The Serge Ibaka days are long gone. But a roster with Jerami Grant, Adams, Roberson and Huestis can make life in the paint trouble for opponents.
Corner 3’s
DJust 41 of Huestis’ 115 3-point shots were from the distancefriendly corner. That 35.7 percent was the lowest on the Thunder, aside from point guards and sharpshooters. And Huestis made just 26.8 percent of those corner 3’s, worse than any teammate other than Roberson. Huestis’ best path to a long career is to defend and hit corner 3’s.
Perimeter defense
BHuestis is a quality defender. The Thunder’s defense held up to some degree when Huestis filled in for the injured Roberson, and Huestis won a bunch of one-on-one matchups. The 11 players he was most matched up with were Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, C.J. McCollum, T.J. Warren, Devin Booker, Trevor Ariza, Buddy Hield, Kevin Durant, Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler and Lou Williams. A lot of stars on that list. Huestis guarded those 11 players on a combined 440 possessions, during which they made 50 of 113 shots
(44.2 percent).