The OKC Thunder have struggled mightily in this year's Western Conference Finals, and Luguentz Dort, in particular, has been nothing short of a disaster.
Dort's potential playoff struggles have been foreshadowed all season, with his decline in three-point shooting and his standout defensive presence thoroughly apparent.
Now with a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance on the line, it's abundantly clear that the Thunder veteran must take a drastically reduced role. In fact, he might need to have as little of a role as possible for the sake of the team.
Frankly, given the stellar play of many of the other OKC guards and wings, the decision seems like a no-brainer for Mark Daigneault and the rest of the staff.
Lessened Lu Dort role opens up the entire Thunder roster's play
The excellent games from the non-Dort guards have been the team's biggest strength in the series.
This has shown up countless times on the stat sheet, including Alex Caruso, Jared McCain, and Cason Wallace being among the top of the team in plus-minus for OKC in this series against the Spurs.
At the bottom of the team's plus-minus is none other than Lu Dort with a minus-54, with the next closest player at minus-28.
Much of his negative play comes from his dreadful shooting. Dort, who was once the Thunder's premier three-and-D player, is knocking down just 18.2 percent of his triples against San Antonio. While his three-point shooting alone makes him unplayable, when the other guards' play is factored in, the bigger question is why Dort was playing in the first place.
The game-altering negatives should not be a shock, as he's a terrible matchup against the Spurs, especially after the injuries.
OKC is in desperate need of ball handlers in the absence of both Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams, and the other Thunder guards can at least repair some of that damage -- Dort, however, does the opposite.
Caruso, Wallace, and McCain have done a great job of filling the gaps. Each has provided valuable contributions, such as pesky defensive playmaking, behind-the-arc shooting, or on-ball scoring.
As of late, even Kenrich Williams has stepped up, shooting 54.5 percent from three and using his length and physicality to throw the Spurs players off their base.
The benching and potential DNP of Dort will help countless aspects of OKC's rotation, with the biggest being their start to the game.
Early game struggles greatly depend on Lu Dort
In the series, the Thunder have a minus-25-point differential in the first quarter and average under 26.0 points in the period.
Dort, who averages 7.0 minutes a game in the first quarter, is a significant factor in the awful starts. When kicking off the first period, he shoots 22.2 percent from three, has a true shooting percentage of 46.8, and a total plus-minus of minus-39.
The Thunder's immediate dependence on their already limited number of ball handlers is amplified by Dort's presence. With Caruso or Wallace replacing Dort in the starting lineup next to McCain and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team will have more viable deep threats on kickouts, better ball-handling, and considerably improved defensive playmaking.
A hot start can change the game and become the defining factor of the OKC Thunder seeing another NBA Finals appearance.
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