The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen a massive uptick in shooting this season. Since 2008 the Thunder have been longing for improved 3-point shooting and this season they finally got it.
Many race to credit this jump to legendary shooting coach Chip Engelland who the Thunder brought in last offseason. However, Oklahoma City bench boss Mark Daigneault offers up a simpler solution.
"Some of the shooting improvement is shots we are not taking...A guy like [Luguentz] Dort we have talked ad nauseam about. He is shooting 40 percent [on 3-pointers] as much because of his improvements as a shooter but also because the of the ones he is laying off of," The Thunder head man said following Tuesday's practice.
On Wednesday ahead of their matchup with the Utah Jazz, Daigneault was asked what specifically goes into course correcting the team's shot selection. Oklahoma City's head coach was open about the process.
"I try not to do it on a shot-by-shot basis, I do not think that is a very fun way to play...The goal is that based on the clarity we lay out with the team and them understanding what efficiency is and what an efficient shot for them is, hopefully, when they shoot a shot that we don't love, they don't love it either," Daigneault said.
The Thunder head coach explained that it is more of an "Education process, starting with the understanding of what efficiency is, what an efficient team is, what an efficient player is and apply that to the roster. everyone is a different player in that. An efficient shot for Lu [Dort] is different than an efficient shot for [Aaron] Wiggins, and right on down."
The Thunder rank first in the league in 3-point percentage (39.4), second in field goal percentage (50.0), first in free throw percentage (83.2) and third in effective field goal percentage (57.5).
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