Terrance Ferguson is about to enter his crucial third year with the OKC Thunder. Here’s how modeling his game after Danny Green could help him get to the next level.
If you’ve ever looked at the by-line for a piece about the OKC Thunder wing Terrance Ferguson on this site, chances are you’ve seen my name. I’ve written about him a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Like, maybe-I-should-look-into-getting-help-for-it a lot.
And while it may seem strange, overanalytical, and downright ridiculous, to have written so much about a player with less than 2700 minutes in the NBA to his name, and a usage rate somehow under 12, I feel like most of it’s been justified. In those 2600 odd minutes, after all, Ferguson’s gone through some pretty wild changes.
As a rookie, he barely registered a pulse, only occasionally showing up when he got hot from three or defied the laws of physics. In the first half of his second season, he came out of the gates with a newfound defensive intensity and a 3-point stroke that seemed legit. After the All-Star break, his offense fell off a cliff, and he was mostly bad in the playoffs.
The slow, sporadic, and, at times, frustrating process was fine for a while. With Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Jerami Grant, and Steven Adams, Ferguson could grow at his own pace and fill a narrow role in a longstanding system. But this year, things are going to change.
Of the four guys I mentioned, only one is still in Oklahoma City, and the OKC Thunder are staring down the barrel of a full-scale rebuild – or, perhaps, retooling – for the first time in over a decade. Ferguson, though still just 21, will need to show real improvement if he’s going to remain in OKC’s long-term plans. Luckily for him, there’s already a player in the NBA whose game is reminiscent of Ferguson’s: Danny Green. Here’s how Ferguson can start playing like Green, and why it’s so important that he does.
Model: Danny Green
Key Stats
| Player | Season | Age | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrance Ferguson | 2018-19 | 20 | 1931 | 8.0 | .429 | 5.4 | .366 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 9.6 |
| Danny Green | 2018-19 | 31 | 2216 | 10.2 | .465 | 7.1 | .455 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 13.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/20/2019.