3 Thunder players who must step up to stave off elimination in Game 6

Isaiah Joe

Our final contestant: Isaiah Joe.

The OKC Thunder needs better three-point shooting efficiency and if anyone can spark an outburst in this area it is this guy right here.

Joe has proven himself to be one of the best long-range shooters the NBA throughout the 2023-24 campaign. During the regular season, he made 41.6 percent of his triples on 4.5 attempts per game, but, of late, it appears something has changed because that number has slipped in the playoffs.

Against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, Joe made just 35.7 percent of his attempts from deep. In this series matched up against the Mavericks, he has improved slightly to 38.1 percent, but still, it's not to where he was in the regular season.

Joe is one of the best role players the Thunder has to offer, yet it doesn't feel that way so far in the playoffs. If anything, Cason Wallace has taken over that title.

For Joe, if he isn't going to be the offensive flamethrower as advertised throughout the season.

The one thing that can be said about his performances is that it is not down to confidence, hesitancy, or aggression. He has shot the ball when passed to and driven the lane when passing up the shot.

Simply put, he just needs to be the knockdown three-point shooter the Thunder witnessed throughout the season and their hopes of extending beyond Saturday's Game 6 become a whole lot stronger.