OKC Thunder Player Preview: Questions of consistency at crux of Alex Abrines growth

For Alex Abrines, this will likely be a make or break season. If he does not get it this year, you fear he never will and it will be time to reduce his role with the team. Abrines is under contract until 2019 when he becomes a restricted free agent.

For Abrines, he has to just gain consistency. Defensively, Abrines will never make a the highlight tapes. However, he will usually stay in front and contest shots. That is all he needs to do defensively. Offensively, Alex Abrines needs to be able to hit the three ball at a consistent and higher rate. Abrines will need to develop into a sniper from distance for this team to go far.

While fans have turned on Abrines, I stay strong in his corner.

Where can Alex Abrines improve?

Shooting:

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Alex Abrines needs to be shooting the trey ball better than sub 40 percent to effectively fill his role. The OKC Thunder desperately need a floor spacing, knock down shooter. While Abrines is a solid perimeter shooter, to fill that role he still needs to improve a touch. Alex Abrines should be receiving a minutes boost,

Consistency:

Again, consistency. That is something Alex Abrines has lacked in his two year NBA career. This is ironic, considering his shooting percentages have been the same in each of the past two years. In his rookie campaign, Abrines shot 39 percent from the floor and repeated that last season. From the 3 point line he shot the ball at a 38 percent clip both seasons.

That is consistent, but not in the way OKC Thunder fans would want. For his career, Abrines has excelled in the winter months of December and January. His career averages for those months is  40 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three in December, and 41 percent from the floor with 40 percent shooting from three point land in January.

His worst month from beyond the arc with the Thunder has been November during his two year career where he has stroked the three ball at just a 27 percent clip.

Defense:

Alex Abrines has talked about wanting to become a better defender, and in the playoff series against Utah he showed flashes of defensive potential. Abrines admitted this has been a point of emphasis for him this summer, and Thunder fans hope that hard work pays off.

This will be a fun year for the OKC Thunder and an important year in the career of Alex Abrines.