Lu Dort Must Find Shooting Stroke in Round Two for OKC Thunder

Oklahoma City’s first round series against the Grizzlies went about as well as anyone could’ve hoped for. Similar to last year’s opening series against the Pelicans, the Thunder cruised to a sweep and will now be rewarded with a week of rest.

Aside from the winning, it was an all-around successful series for the Thunder. Role players received opportunities to step up, the secondary stars were shining bright, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who struggled, found a lot of momentum in the Game 4 that can carry over to the second round. The Thunder also got significant data on lineups and Mark Daigneault was able to experiment with different rotations because of the nature of the series.

Everyone found a way to make an impact. The only concern? Oklahoma City didn’t shoot the ball well, and it started with one of the team’s best statistical shooters. Lu Dort has transformed himself into a 40% 3-points shooter, but he couldn’t buy a bucket from the outside in round one. Of course, it didn’t hurt the Thunder as they cruised to victory, but Dort’s points will be absolutely necessary the deeper into the postseason this team goes.

Dort was impact, of course, playing stingy defense on Memphis’ talented guards. His offensive game fell way short of what Oklahoma City has grown to expect from him, though. Across the four games, Dort averaged just 6.5 points on 30.8% from the floor and 26.1% from 3-point range. He’s definitely had his fair share of shooting slumps over the last two seasons, but those percentages are nowhere near indicative of how good a shooter he is.

Oklahoma City's defensive stopper has become quite the two-way impact player for this Thunder team. In the regular season, he averaged 10.1 points and shot 41.2% from 3-point range. He took 5.8 triples a contest, too.

His shooting has the ability to change games, and if he can make opponents pay, it raises the Thunder's ceiling exponentially. Dort has to rise to the occasion in the coming rounds.