To stay afloat amid their recent, widespread injury woes, the OKC Thunder will need their top-flight role players to step up.
Fortunately, several talents have already done so, with Ajay Mitchell, in particular, serving as a standout performer since taking on more responsibilities within the rotation.
Jared McCain, however, hasn't managed to fare as well and even finds himself in the middle of a poorly timed shooting slump.
Jared McCain hitting offensive skid when Thunder need him most
Over the last three games, the third-year guard has been absolutely abysmal from long range, an area of play that quickly made him a trusted part of coach Mark Daigneault's rotation after his trade-deadline arrival last season.
Throughout this stretch, McCain has hoisted a whopping 16 triples, missing every single one of them while sporting an overall shooting clip of just 28.9 percent along the way.
His field goal attempts rank third on the Thunder since October 28, while his 5.3 shots from beyond the arc place only behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 6.7.
With this high-end involvement paired with such low-end efficiency, it's no wonder OKC has gone just 1-2 during this span. Heck, even in their lone victory, Gilgeous-Alexander needed to drop 43 points on an insane 35 shots, while McCain posted just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting, in order for the Thunder to squeak out a close 117-112 win in Cleveland.
Needless to say, Oklahoma City needs the support system that's built around Shai to carry more of the load now left behind in the wake of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Cason Wallace's recent injuries.
McCain is someone who specifically needs to find his groove.
Thunder shooting efficiency has plummeted amid injury woes
Over the last several years, the Thunder have established themselves as one of the most efficient shooting teams in the entire association, tying for the fourth-best field goal percentage among all 30 teams just last season.
During these early stages of 2026-27, it seems things have taken a turn for the worse on this front.
Through seven games played, the Thunder rank a lowly 24 in field goal percentage at 43.8 percent and 26 in three-point percentage at just 32.0.
Frankly, this dip is not all that surprising to see, as the club has lost two of its top offensive weapons in Jalen Williams (ankle) and Chet Holmgren (knee) to significant injuries, leaving the onus on younger, less established guys like Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, and even rookie Bennett Stirtz to try and take on a larger share of responsibilities.
Hopefully, their current rut is just an adjustment period, and once they acclimate, the Thunder will see a positive regression back to their mean shooting splits. If not, Sam Presti may have to stray from his typical philosophy and make some in-season shakeups to address their need for more consistent offense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google