OKC Thunder Needs Cason Wallace to be More Assertive Offensively

Oklahoma City is dealing with its first batch of adversity this year, and at 25-3, this could be what the Thunder needed. On paper, the Western Conference looked like a juggernaut — it was only a matter of time before the Thunder had to figure a few things out.

Suffering two losses in the last three games, this team has entered a bit of uncharted territory. Both losses were to teams out West, too — teams that the Thunder could certainly see in the playoffs.

There’s obviously room for improvement — that rang true even when Oklahoma City was a historic 24-1. But now more than ever, this Thunder team needs to figure out where they can improve. It’s not one specific area, or player, either. It’s a collective effort.

With Lu Dort’s continued struggles and Alex Caruso’s playing time fluctuating, this team will continue to give Cason Wallace more opportunities to shine. He is clearly an unbelievable defender, but there’s a lot of untapped offensive potential, too. Over the last few weeks, though, Wallace hasn’t looked as confident on the offensive end as we’ve seen at times. Oklahoma City needs him to be more assertive on that end of the court to open up the floor.

Over the last three games, Wallace is shooting just 4-of-18 from the floor, and in the two losses he averaged 4.5 points. During the last 10-game stretch, he has record double digit points just twice, and has gone five straight games without reaching 10 points.

His impact is sky high, and his defensive production has been unbelievable as found in his increased steal rate. But his field goal percentage has dropped from 47.4% a season ago to 42.5% this season.

He’s still having a rock solid, do-it-all year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists to go along with 2.4 steals per game. But he’s a special player, and there’s more he can do for this Thunder team — specially on the offensive end. He has proven he can handle major responsibilities during both Summer League action and in games where Oklahoma City is missing key players, but he hasn’t been able to find that same confidence in fully healthy lineups.

Oklahoma City needs to continue to trust the third-year guard, who has all the talent in the world. If they make another deep playoff run, there’s no doubt that Wallace will be a big part of it. He just needs a few strong performances to build his confidence.