Overreacting to the Thunder preseason

Lu Dort and Tre Mann continue to improve their offensive games, showing flashes of elite scoring.

It was also encouraging to see Lu Dort be an efficient scorer. In his career, Dort has struggled with consistency, which is echoed in his shooting percentage. Over his three years with OKC, Dort has shot just 39 percent from the field. This preseason, Dort shot 54 percent from the field, looking much better around the rim, which is somewhere he’s struggled to produce.

What’s even crazier is his ability to score the ball. In Dort’s rookie season, he was labeled an offensive liability. A couple of years later, he’s averaging 17 points per game and only getting better.

This preseason, Dort averaged a mind-boggling 33 points per game per 36 minutes. Although Dort only played in three games in the preseason, there is no denying that Dort’s offensive game is only getting better and better.

Tre Mann is another player who is only getting better and better on the offensive side of the ball. Mann averaged 16 points per game in the preseason while shooting 52 percent from three on over seven attempts per game. The shots have been falling for Mann, and a lot of that is because he’s always getting himself open. I don’t think it’s too outrageous to say he has one of the best step-back moves in the league.

Mann has all the tools to be a primary scorer off the bench, and I expect him to receive Sixth Man of the Year votes this season. He’s the exact player you want to come off the bench and make an immediate impact on the offensive end.

I think the Thunder have a real opportunity to make a play-in push. Whether or not they should try to be competitive or not is a different story, but there’s no denying this team has talent. At least this team has enough talent to beat any team on any given night, especially if we get a healthy season from star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Although the Thunder may not be a very good team, improvement is key. And as a super young core continues to get better and better, it won’t be long until the Thunder are back in playoff contention.