Stiles Points: Isaiah Joe Is Heating Up At Right Time For OKC Thunder

As the weather hit ice box temperatures around Oklahoma, Thunder shooting guard Isaiah Joe is heating up.

The typical sharpshooter is shooting under 40 percent for the first time in his Oklahoma City Thunder tenure. Joe burst onto the scene in Bricktown, stroking the trey ball at a 40 percent clip in 2022-23 before posting 41 percent from 3-point land a year ago.

This season, Joe is sitting at 37 percent from downtown, leaving many wondering, what's wrong? Nothing is wrong, just different.

Since the start of training camp way back in September, the Oklahoma City Thunder have preached the importance of upping the 3-point volume, even if that causes the best 3-point shooting team - percentage-wise - from a year ago to take a step back.

They have. After leading the league a year ago, the Thunder sit 18th in the league in 3-point shooting. However, it runs deeper than just volume for Joe.

While the Arkansas product is launching a career-high 5.9 attempts per game, he is also traditionally a slow starter - albeit not this slow - not just that, the looks that Joe is getting are a massive shift, as well.

"We are willing to take a step backward to take two steps forward. To this point, he has been a stationary shooter, which, with Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander next to him] specifically is really powerful. With the gravity, Shai has just to throw it to him and have him fire," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. "But, we think there is more there [With Isaiah Joe], because of his speed, his motor and his shooting gravity. We put him on the move more. Run more stuff through him. The first play of the game tonight was a good example of that. It takes a little to calibrate. it is different. He went through a little bit of growing pains there. Has since, caught a good rhythm."

Through the first nine games of January, the Thunder sharpshooter has launched 55 triples, making them at a season-best 43 percent clip. In the tenth game? Joe went 8-for-10 from long range against the Brooklyn Nets, en route to 24 points in the Thunder's blowout win against the Nets.

"[Isaiah Joe] Is probably the best shooter I've ever seen. I've been playing with him since I was in the tenth grade. I remember, before the season, I went in there and got in the hot tub/cold tub at 7 o'clock and he was in there shooting. He was shooting two steps past half-court and he was in there cashing them. It was just a routine thing for him. He works and it shows up during the game," Thunder teammate Jaylin Williams said.

That work that Joe has consistently put has allowed him to adapt to a new style of offensive throughout this season. In the long run? It makes the Thunder a true title contender.

While the Arkansas product has been a lethal catch-and-shoot weapon, as defenses tighten up, the game crawls in the half-court, and it is easy to close out and contest these attempts - as seen in the Dallas series a year ago.

However, being able to run Joe in dribble handoff actions, curling off screens and legitimate set plays for open looks are controllable things for the Thunder in the biggest games of the season - whereas rotational lapses are nearly fully dependent on others.

Isaiah Joe's big night against the Knicks was not just about shots going in. He read the floor really well and the actions he was put in led to great looks. I explained on the screen: pic.twitter.com/IS20T9xJcw
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) January 12, 2025

Stiles Points

Mark Daigneault has secured the gig as the NBA All-Star head coach from the Western Conference with the Thunder's win over the Nets on Sunday.
With a limited roster, many Thunder players were thrust into different roles. Cason Wallace showed his on-ball upside as a scorer throughout the course of this game. Wallace turned in nine points, six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in just 25 minutes.
Aaron Wiggins had plenty of highlights in this game, from his spin move down low, to his euro-step drive - but his greatest achievement was a pair of behind-the-back dimes to set up Thunder buckets. Oklahoma City totaled 37 assists in this game.
Adam Ducas came off the bench and lit up the scoreboard going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in four minutes to post nine points.
Branden Carlson earned backup big man duties in this game as he and Jaylin Williams shouldered the load in the front court. The rookie logged 18 minutes off the bench to the tune of eight points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

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