Thunder Showcase Offensive Improvements, Bright Future in Recent Stretch

Oklahoma City may be losers of seven of the last 10 games, spanning before the All-Star Break, but it hasn’t all been negative in the stretch.

At times this season, OKC’s offense has been abysmal at best. But even without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in most of that stretch, the Thunder’s offense took a step forward.

Without a star player the Thunder should've expected a dip in production. Instead the scoring went up as new faces burst onto the scene and into the starting lineup. Oklahoma City eclipsed the 100 point mark all but three times in the last 10 games, with two of the three failures hitting 98 points.

With exquisite passing and improved shooting, the Thunder are averaging just under 105 points per game, sparking an improved offense.

In those 10 games the Thunder had six different leading scorers. Including rookies Tre Mann and Josh Giddey leading in three of those games. Aleksej Pokusevski also gave the lineup a boost throughout the stretch, including leading the team with 18 points on Feb. 9 against the Raptors.

The last four games, the Thunder have scored 125-plus points in two games, both which resulted in overtime wins. While it’s widely known the Thunder are opting for draft positioning, which isn’t exactly helped by a better offense, the recent success does prove bright for the future.

With injuries coming and going for the Thunder now, including Lu Dort and Giddey nursing ailments, the various depth pieces on the Thunder have upped their stock and roles. Notably, Mann, who has been on a recent tear. His biggest points barrage came on Valentines day, when he poured on 30 points against the Knicks.

The Thunder have also seen a slight improvement on 3-point shooting, getting their season average up to 31.2% on the season. They still rank dead last in the NBA, but it's an improvement nonetheless.

While this season may highlighted by a draft pick, the future is bright for OKC.

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