After two less than stellar seasons in a Thunder uniform, Jeremy Lamb has a chance to change the minds of Thunder fans who are still upset over the trade that sent James Harden to Houston in return for the young guard, along with other assets.
With longtime Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha moving on to Atlanta, Lamb has a chance to play a major role for OKC this season. As of now it is still up in the air as to who will be the starting shooting guard this season.
After showing major improvements in his second year Reggie Jackson is the early favorite, but with his size (6’3”) and his ability to create for himself, Jackson may be a better fit as the first man off the bench rather than a starting shooting guard.
That leaves Jeremy Lamb as the next logical option. Lamb is a true shooting guard with a silky smooth shot and in-the-gym range. His size (6’5”) and athleticism make him a better fit to guard other shooting guards. It’s quite clear that Lamb has an almost limitless upside but he has been unable to produce consistently enough to earn the trust of Thunder head coach Scott Brooks.
The biggest issue with Lamb’s performance over the past two seasons has been his unreliability. He has shown the ability to score in bunches, but hasn’t been able to score consistently.
A big part of that may be his lack of consistent playing time. When a player is a volume scorer it’s important to get big minutes and therefore get shots consistently. This is something that he will have to work on if he wants to stick with the Thunder.
Because OKC has two of the best scorers in the NBA in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, he may not get the amount of shots he needs even if he is getting consistent minutes. It may sound simple, but the key to Lamb being an impact player for the Thunder will be whether or not he can develop a reliable spot up jumper from the corners.
After reviewing the shot charts of Westbrook, Durant, and Serge Ibaka (nyloncalculus.com/shotchart), it is clear that the corners are wide open for anyone who wants to step in and start hitting shots. According to Lamb’s chart, he is quite effective from the right corner but has had much less success from the left side.
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With Westbrook and Durant attacking the basket at will, defenses will be collapsing like crazy and leaving open jumper after open jumper for players like Lamb. If Jeremy can hit those shots when he gets them, even if only a couple times a game, he will be a stud in the Thunder offense and a candidate for most improved player.
Reliability has also been an issue for Lamb defensively. He is a solid one-on-one defender but tends to get lost when he is defending off ball or dealing with the pick and roll game. This is the main reason Scott Brooks couldn’t depend on Lamb in the playoffs and he found himself riding the bench.
With Westbrook and Durant on the perimeter, Lamb doesn’t need to be a defensive stopper. As longs as he can avoid the major mistakes that spark runs for the opponent he can be an effective defender and a good fit in the Thunder starting lineup.
Getting on the floor will be the biggest hurdle for Jeremy Lamb. Not just getting minutes, but getting crunch time minutes. He won’t get those minutes if Scott Brooks can’t depend on him and so far in his career he hasn’t shown that he can be relied on.
Lamb doesn’t need to do much. If he can be consistent from the corners and be a safe and solid defender he will be much more likely to see major minutes and much more likely to contribute to Thunder wins.