Jared McCain has been on an absolute tear since crossing conferences ahead of February's trade deadline, posting incredibly efficient averages of 11.9 points on 47.5 percent shooting from the floor and 44.4 percent shooting from deep with the OKC Thunder.
However, perhaps his most impactful trait in aiding a hopeful repeat title run for Oklahoma City is not his newfound production but rather his already established knowledge of Eastern Conference teams' on-court schemes.
Following Wednesday's blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets, McCain was asked whether he believes it's "beneficial" for him to face East clubs that he has a "familiarity with."
In response, the guard seemed to suggest that there may, in fact, be a positive correlation, noting that "being able to just know certain tendencies and knowing the arena" will "definitely help" both him and, in turn, the Thunder when playing teams from the opposing conference.
Of course, for the vast majority of their upcoming playoff run, West teams are the ones OKC will need to construct three rounds' worth of game plans for. However, the final challenge to going back-to-back will ultimately be to best the Eastern Conference Champions in the NBA Finals should they be fortunate enough to get back there.
Whether it's the top-seeded Detroit Pistons or one of his former Atlantic Division rivals like the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks, McCain's knowledge of these teams could wind up proving to be an underrated boon that Sam Presti and company might not have even been aware that they added upon initially acquiring the sophomore last month.
Thunder using Jared McCain in ways 76ers never did
Of course, as suggested, before they can even begin to think about benefiting from McCain's established knowledge of Eastern Conference foes, the Thunder will be looking to get the most out of his in-game abilities, regardless of who their opponent is.
Through his first 18 games with the organization, it seems they've been doing exactly that. Recently, the guard himself hinted at how.
During a shoot-around media session earlier this week, McCain highlighted how Oklahoma City has used him as a consistent scoring option off screens set by big men like Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams.
He noted that, during his time with the 76ers, he would regularly see Tyrese Maxey benefit from such set-ups from Joel Embiid, and shared that being "able to be a part of it [in OKC] is really fun."
Needless to say, this shift in his usage has worked wonders both for McCain and the Thunder.