3 Scary Thunder stats that will haunt your nightmares
By Mark Nilon
Halloween isn't the only thing that generates a fright, as the OKC Thunder have recorded some seriously haunting stat lines that should keep any fan up at night.
Rhyme schemes aside, this Oklahoma City squad is far more flawed than what their undefeated 4-0 record may have you believe.
Though none of their blunders or on-court mishaps have yet to prove detrimental, as the season progresses the Thunder must find a way to address a few of their more troubling statistical quagmires.
Scary stats that could haunt Thunder if not properly addressed
Rank third-worst as a team in 3-point percentage
After finishing last season as the most efficient long-range shooting team in the association, during these early stages of the 2024-25 campaign it's evident that the ball club's top-shelf productivity has fallen off a cliff.
Down roughly 10 percentage points, the Thunder are converting at a disturbingly low 31.2 percent clip from beyond the arc while hoisting up nearly five more attempts per game.
Such a lowly success rate trails all other teams in the league save for the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz and falls directly behind expected cellar dwellers in the Toronto Raptors (32.2) and Portland Trail Blazers (32.9), respectively.
Boast a bottom-half offensive rating
Oklahoma City's struggles on the offensive end exceed their lackluster long-range shooting abilities thus far into the season, as they find themselves ranked 23 in offensive rating (108.5), a category where, in 2023-24, they placed second (118.3).
From their pedestrian points per game successes (rank 19 at 112.3) and eighth-worst effective field goal percentage (51.2) to their lowly assist rates (rank 20 with 24.5), the Thunder have proven to be a bottom-half team on the offensive end of the floor.
Fortunately their defensive efforts have helped make up for these lapses so far, but, as the season progresses, they're going to need to find a way to have their offense catch up if they want to legitimately vie for their second consecutive number one seed and, ultimately, an NBA Championship.
Second-worst rebounding percentage
It was well known among the fanbase that the Thunder would struggle on the glass to start the 2024-25 season what with splashy free agency signing Isaiah Hartenstein sidelined due to a left-hand fracture, but perhaps no one could have predicted just how poorly they'd fare.
Through this point in the season, OKC ranks in with the second-worst rebounding percentage in the entire league at 46.5, but it goes much deeper than just this metric.
What makes these averages even worse for the ball club is the fact that they are allowing their opponents to pull down a whopping 54.8 boards per game (14.5 on the offensive end), which ranks dead last.
Thunder fans are likely counting down the days until Hartenstein (boasts career averages of 15.5 rebounds per 100 possessions) makes his return to the hardwood, which is expected to come in early-to-mid November,