Terrance Ferguson off court issues clearly affecting his on court production
OKC Thunder shooting guard Terrance Ferguson is experiencing a tough season on and off the court. Upon learning the reason why the T.I. postgame grades seem a bit harsh.
I’ll admit I’ve been hard on OKC Thunder Terrance Ferguson through the early stages of this season. In fairness, this was based on the anticipation of the third year wing man being ready to take a step up the ladder after a summer spent improving his game.
Ferguson displayed the potential during his 2018-19 campaign as he ranked third on the team for 3-point efficiency behind Jerami Grant and Paul George. The hope was his 3.9 attempts per game and 36.6 percent proficiency would result in more attempts and an even greater efficiency this year.
Furthermore, with youngsters like Hamidou Diallo and Darius Bazley on the club perhaps it was too presumptious but it seemed like he would be able to get the necessary natural push from the competition behind him while simultaneously fostering their development.
However, with the onset of the season Ferguson has seemed lost at times on the court. There are multiple examples on record of NBA players who displayed strong rookies campaigns only to regress in their sophomore season. That typically happens as teams are now able to game plan for them but to see a third-year player regress isn’t as standard.
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 61 | 12.5 | 2.8 | .414 | 2.0 | .333 | .612 | .533 | 0.2 | .900 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.1 |
| 2018-19 | 74 | 26.1 | 5.8 | .429 | 3.9 | .366 | .560 | .552 | 0.7 | .725 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 6.9 |
| 2019-20 | 10 | 22.3 | 3.4 | .441 | 2.1 | .381 | .538 | .559 | 0.3 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| Career | 145 | 20.1 | 4.4 | .426 | 3.0 | .357 | .571 | .547 | 0.4 | .766 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 5.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/14/2019.
So the question kept rising – what’s going on with Terrance Ferguson? His numbers are down in almost every statistical category and not just in terms of his efficiency but also his attempts.
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This seemed odd because with Russell Westbrook and Paul George moving on coupled with the club embracing a more ball/player movement friendly offense the expectations were his shots would increase.
On November second Ferguson posted an instagram story prompting thoughts perhaps his daughter was ill (of note IG stories don’t remain on accounts but the quote below is what the story said)
“The devil is working his a– off in my life,. Y’all, please pray for me and my daughter. She’s my everything.”
Then this week the shooting guard didn’t travel with the team to Indiana for their match versus the Pacers and the reason was cited as “personal”.
Today we learned the reason as per Joe Mussatto and Maddie Lee of the Oklahoman. Ferguson’s daughter isn’t sick he’s waged in a messy child custody battle with his ex-fiancee – Lawren Jensen.
Admittedly, those harsh grades I kept doling out popped into my mind immediately.
It’s easy to forget like each of us, these players are humans first and have their own personal trials and tribulations to go through.
I’m sure the fan base feels similar in wishing TFerg success in this endeavor and for a speedy decision on the matter. As for the particulars of his battle, you can click here for Mussatto and Lee’s article on the matter.
Next. Can Terrance Ferguson take a leap in year three?. dark
Again, sending prayers and best wishes to Ferguson with the hope this matter finds a quick and positive resolution.