As the season comes to a disappointing end, it’s time to focus on season performances. In evaluating OKC Thunder guard Terrance Ferguson he made massive improvements but the ceiling is still untapped.
Before I dive in, I want to clarify something. Terrance Ferguson has been placed in difficult situations to start his NBA career. First, he became a full-time OKC Thunder starting guard by his second season, which meant playing 25 plus minutes a game.
Along with this, he has had less of an adjustment period to the NBA. These standards have lead to higher expectations from us OKC Thunder fans; much higher than we’ve held previous rookies. With this being said, Terrance Ferguson has proven to be much more valuable than we give him credit.
Throughout his first 2 seasons with the OKC Thunder, Terrance Ferguson has shown bright spots along with rough parts to his game. After a rookie season based around pure athleticism and a breakout game against the Lakers, Ferguson finally showed us his worth.
In past years, OKC would have either Paul George or Andre Roberson guard the toughest defensive assignment, but T-Ferg has shown his ability to keep up with offensive stars such as CJ McCollum and even James Harden, which allows Paul George to exert more energy on the offensive side.
In addition to the defense, Ferguson has displayed noticeable improvement in shooting the long ball. While nearly doubling his three-point attempts, he is up to 36 percent this season, compared to 33 percent last season. The major thing is how comfortable he seems shooting. Last year, he would’ve hesitated before taking a wide open three, but this year, he has found the confidence in himself to take that shot.
Another offensive advancement I’ve noticed with Terrance is his off-ball movement. OKC’s offense is notorious for moving through a few players per-possession, yet the addition of T-Ferg has brought more movement to the offense. He has done a great job running baseline while PG or Russell Westbrook run plays, sometimes leading to an open corner three for Ferguson.