Surprising B/R selection for OKC Thunder biggest x-factor

With the season a quarter of the way complete many sites are reflecting on awards and each team’s strengths and weaknesses. On a night where the OKC Thunder entered the record books for a mark in futility via losing to the Grizzlies by a whopping 73 points reflection might seem like the last thing, Thunder Nation wants to do.

In fairness, the starting backcourt was out in the match with Josh Giddey suffering from the flu and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the concussion protocol program. And while not having a couple of starters might not impact every team the same the Thunder doesn’t have the same leeway that clubs with ample depth do.

Nor do they possess a ton of experience on the roster.  In fact, the Thunder aren’t just the youngest team in the association they also have the least on-court experience.

B/R x-factor pick for OKC Thunder is a bit of a surprise

So when Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report picked one player from each team who is their x-factor it’s actually not that surprising he went with experience.

Hughes acknowledges his x-factors are players who can switch the outcome of a game but typically aren’t the star. Rather, his x-factors fulfill a specific need, role, or offer energy that can dictate winning in more of a subtle way.

While Hughes acknowledges Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the superstar he elected to focus on an experienced OKC Thunder player. Moreover, his Thunder x-factor provides something the team is in short supply of — 3-point shooting!

His Thunder x-factor is Mike Muscala:

"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the obvious choice here, considering that he’s the only Oklahoma City Thunder player whom you could imagine occupying a large role on a team that hadn’t spent the last two years tearing things all the way down.We’re going with Mike Muscala instead, OKC’s offense-first floor-stretching big. While SGA’s production is a given Muscala’s is more of a bonus, yet he has legitimately swung games in the Thunder’s favor.He put up 20 points in only 14 minutes on Nov. 7 to help Oklahoma City pull off a five-point win over the San Antonio Spurs, and then he logged another 12 points (on only four field-goal attempts) in an eight-point victory over the Pelicans on Nov. 10.Those are two specific examples, but you can see how Muscala’s contributions are more broadly valuable.The Thunder are 29th in the league in three-point percentage and dead last in offensive efficiency. But Muscala, who’s played center exclusively this year, is drilling 43.6 percent of his triples.He’s an oasis in OKC’s barren offensive landscape—and at a critical position."

There were options Hughes could’ve tapped other than Muscala such as rookie Josh Giddey who is proving his playmaking and overall skillset impacts winning. Opponents are already figuring his impact out and experts are recognizing it too given his Rookie of the Month honors.

Likewise, Luguentz Dort could easily have been tapped given how much he does to captain the defense. Especially since the main reason the OKC Thunder have been in as many games as they have is their commitment and success on the defensive end of the court.

Even his improved offense has impressed particularly in games where Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t available.

Similar to Muscala, Derrick Favors could’ve been tapped as an x-factor based on how successful the Thunder perform with him on the court.

Both vets provide nurturing and mentorship for this Thunder squad which is important for such a young team. And while Hughes taps Muscala the big question Thunder fans will be asking is whether either or both Muscala and Favors will be on the team after the trade deadline.

For now, the youngsters are gleaning as much intel as possible from these two vets and as Hughes notes relying on their x-factor potential.