Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder Lightning Report: Checking in on Terrance Ferguson

By Noah Schulte

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 3: Terrance Ferguson #23 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is seen before the game against the Detroit Pistons on December 3, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 3: Terrance Ferguson #23 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is seen before the game against the Detroit Pistons on December 3, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
OKC Thunder
Terrance Ferguson (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Anemic Shooting Attempts:

Even if TFerg were shooting, say two or three more times per game, his offense would still create some big problems for Oklahoma City. At the NBA level, he’s only canned 32.6 percent of his three’s and 77.4 percent of his free throws; numbers that leave more than a little room for improvement. As I said before if he’s not hitting shots, he’s almost certainly not going to help much offensively and it’s hurting the team.

By only hitting such a small percentage of his three’s, he lets defenders sag off and crowd the paint more which can stagnate offenses in a hurry. That kind of coverage is a huge reason as to why the Thunder haven’t been able to get anything going offensively, as I wrote about here a couple days ago. Ferguson isn’t the main culprit, but he deserves a considerable portion of the blame for the team’s non-existent spacing.

It’s not like Ferguson doesn’t have the tools to start hitting shots —  he does– he just hasn’t figured it out. In theory, he has the length to shoot over most opposing players, and the athleticism to get to his spots and fire quickly. We’ve seen brief flashes of that guy on the Thunder, but nothing long enough to make a real impact.

At this point, it’s fair to say that we don’t really know who Ferguson is offensively, which, um,  fine–but the sooner we do, the clearer the future of the Thunder will start to look.

Home/Thunder News