Strengths
Complete and reliable game
There is little doubt that Carter is one of the leagues greatest dunkers, providing us with entertainment night in and night. Even at 41 years of age, Air Canada can still rise and throw down regularly taking fans back in time.
However, one of Carter’s strengths was his ability to adapt and improve his game beyond highlight slams. Over the years VC developed a reliable perimeter game and still puts up numbers when he’s rolling.
His best performance came in Atlanta’s 106-98 win over the Denver Nuggets. Half man – Half amazing posted 13 points (5-10 from the field, 3-7 from three) and three rebounds in 16 minutes.
Carter isn’t the player he was in his prime but he is able to tap into various skills to help his squad win games.
OKC possesses a roster full of young athletes whose inexperience shines through in bad moments. Air Canada is a reliable veteran who understands the nuances of basketball, particularly when the lights shine the brightest.
Veteran Leadership
After 20 seasons in the NBA, VC is one of the most experienced and respected players in league. The former slam dunk has done just about everything and can offer leadership to younger players on the rise.
Oklahoma City have a core group of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams and Andre Roberson but lack that true veteran voice in the locker room since the departure of Nick Collison. Mr Thunder was the teams barometer and offered the calm voice the team sorely needed in big moments.
While Russ and PG are undoubtedly the leaders of this club, even they need a voice to help them along when they get lost and Carter no doubt offers leadership even they respect.
Weaknesses
Inconsistent outside shooting
While VC has developed a reliable perimeter game across his career, his 3-point percentage has bounced wildly over the last five seasons:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2018.
According to the numbers, VC is an average 3-point shooter this season this season but is prone to dropping off the face of the earth if he loses faith in this jumper. He shot solidly in 2016-17 with Memphis but aside from that, has hovered around 34 percent.
While he has shot 37.2 percent from three across his career, teams will be gambling on his shooting percentages hoping he is trending in the upward direction.