Four burning OKC Thunder questions a month into the season

The Oklahoma City Thunder are watching Lu Dort struggle night in and night out, but is this just a slump or is this a regression?

Much like glass half full or glass half empty people, some say “The season is still young! It is a small sample size! It is not even Thanksgiving yet! Oh come on, the NBA season does not even start until Christmas Day, everyone knows that!” to Lu Dort’s early season struggles and those who think the sky is falling after ten games.

There is no dancing around it, Lu Dort has not played well in these first ten games and I am sure he would openly tell you that. Averaging 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists on just 36 percent from the floor and a lowly 19 percent from three.

That low mark from distance has not discouraged Lu Dort from taking triples as he averages a team-high five three-point attempts per game. Dort is shooting just nine percent from the corner, an area where he typically shot 44 percent from distance, as it stands now Lu Dort has a career-low percentage from his overall three-point percentage, above the break, and in the corners.

The lone bright spot for Dort has been his career-high rim-finishing numbers and improved rim decision-making as a playmaker. While still not perfect, it is a long way from last season.

So the question is: Slump or regression?

To me, this has to be just a brutal cold slump. There are individual moments, and shots, you can point to throughout these ten games that we thought would break the cold streak.

Mark Daigneault has talked about taking the season in ten-game chunks, Lu Dort starts a new chunk tonight against the Bucks.