He's improving so fast, it's SCARY...

The game-changing X-Factor for OKC, well, look no farther than number three, because Jared McCain has been hooping as of late. The sharp shooting guard giving OKC offense that they desperately need through injury and keeping them competitive early in this Western Conference race. Today, we are talking about Jared's jump shot heating back up. We're going to break down his film and shot charts from some of his recent games. And lastly, take a nice look at his chemistry. With iHeart and SGA, all of this aimed at explaining why McCain just might define the ceiling of this Thunder offense, and why McCain is definitely the current X Factor for the Oklahoma City Thunder. All of this for you guys today on Thunder Digest, where we are just 13 subscribers away from hitting our goal of 11,000 that we set out to hit by Thanksgiving. We might hit this early, thanks to you guys and your great support. So if you're already subscribed, I thank you so much for your continued efforts, supports, Clicking on the video. And if you're not. 13 subscribers away this video should put us over the edge when I refresh that I want to see 11,000 subscribers and I hope to see you guys in all of our pre-games post-games live streams player centric videos like this all in one easy place for you on Thunder Digest. So make sure you're subscribed to join the best Thunder community on all of social media and without any further ado let's jump into the video where today we are talking about how Jared McCain's Shooting can unlock OKC's offense. In fact, it already has begun to do exactly that. Because recently, Jared McCain has been on a tear. His last three games, over 20 points per contest, shooting nearly 64% from the field, 50% from behind the arc. This guy has been heating up and he's also been rebounding the ball better, playing some defense. All of this coming with more court time. We see him more than double his points per game, shooting over 30% better from the field and playing over three minutes per game more. Then his, you know, rocky start to this regular season. Well, he has completely turned that around. Nothing more evident than last night's game against Portland. Granted, it was an Oklahoma City loss, but Jared McCain, not really a guy that you can put any fault to for that loss. Had 21 points on just 12 shots. Shot 50% from the field, over 50% from behind the arc. Four of seven from back there. Got to the stripe six times and knocked five of those down. Also adds three rebounds, three assists. And only turns the ball over once in his 31 minutes on the court. In the Thunder, their offense has been very shaky since losing Dub, Chet, even Cason Wallace. And in a game where they only score 103 points, you're getting a fifth of your points from Mr. McCain. Can't really blame him for the loss, in which he looked very, very good in this loss. Because taking a look at against Portland, so much good off-ball relocation from Jared McCain. Specifically in this give-and-go action with Isaiah Hartenstein. But Jared has that Steph Curry motor and stamina to just run around and run around and run around all day long. He is constantly moving and putting stress on the defense, flying around the perimeter as a shooting threat. Because if you do give him that step, you do give him that space. Well, he is burying it in rhythm more often than not, as you're seeing right here. And with reps and experience, I see him getting noticeably better at finding soft spots on the cross court when the defender's heads are turned. And also. He's getting better at identifying how to act and react to different screen coverages, taking what the defense is giving him and getting easier looks from that. Against Portland, he was able to get to his spot, mainly a left wing three, which we're going to see throughout the last couple of games where he's been heating up. But you're really seeing him get shots from all around more than a normal three point sniper. This guy has been able to tune his three point shot in from deep while also attacking the basket, getting looks at the restricted area. Cutting back door better, adding a lot of different elements to his game that make him an even more dangerous shooter and even help to unlock this Oklahoma City offense with a guy who can score on and off the ball. You see it right there. Left wing threes, restricted area, a couple middies. Well, let's take a look at the Washington game that happened before. OKC this time had a blowout win against the Washington Wizards and Jared McCain, a very different looking shot chart. Just three days previous, OKC's last outing, heavy shots in the restricted area, still seeing those threes being taken from the left wing, got a few mid-range pull-up jumpers. And my biggest takeaway from this Washington game, a good example of how the shooting opens up everything else for McCain, for the Thunder offense, and a lot of using out-of-control closeouts and how tight the defenders are playing against him, using his shooting gravity to attract those defenders. Well, from there. He was beating opponents off of the bounce or even without the ball. First up, he's being face-guarded 40 feet from the basket here. Give and go. Backdoor cut leads to a pop pull-up for a bucket. This time, they're playing tight in the corner, away from the action. Off-ball Hartenstein screen brings Jared towards the play and gets him a step on the defender where he hits a lefty layup for two. Well, how about an on-ball Hartenstein screen to get a step? I mean, shout out to Hartenstein. Getting everybody open. And the defender's going to close out too fast with zero control. Scared that Jared might hit a triple. And that allows for McCain to slide by to the cup for another lay. He once again takes advantage. Unrelated right here, but we had to keep the defensive highlight in there. Just so you guys know that he is putting in effort, improving on that end as well. But back to the scoring. Because next up, Jared catches the cross-court pass with a bit of space. Some space that the defender is not comfortable with. And when the defender. goes to close that space. Jared uses that to his advantage. Once again, the threat of his jumper gets him that step of space. Pull up at the free throw line like SGA, baby. Here, we see another iHeart screen, but you can see the maturity and the IQ of McCain coming along because the defender does go over this screen, but Alex Sarr is going to stay and drop coverage, and iHeart's brick wall gets McCain that space, and he reminds the Wizards. Why have they been closing out so hard on threes all night long, right? Hits that one right there. Rebound right here. Another improved area for Jared, by the way. But immediately, he's hounded 94 feet by Bub Carrington. Well, no worries there because we're going coast to coast like Russell Westbrook. We're finishing in the paint ourselves. Why guards so close in transition, you might ask Bub Carrington on Jared McCain. Well, because if you don't do that, you might be inbounding the ball after McCain nets one on the run from deep just like this. And he finished up this night by dancing and finding his way into a sweet-looking mid-range. This guy definitely practices with SGA. All in all, that is how you end up with such a well-rounded shot chart like this right here, where you get six points at the rim, four in the paint, two in the mid-range, six from three, and one on your only free-throw attempt. A bunch of shots in the restricted area, getting the threes from the places you like, and popping that middie in the meantime. Jared McCain becoming a very well-rounded and developed scorer and And the Memphis game had another great performance, the third game going back, and this was on the front end of the back-to-back with Washington. Once again, an offensive performance that was stellar, 21 points on 9 of 14, 3 of 8 from deep, and in 29 minutes, he also grabbed 5 rebounds and had 4 steals and a block as well. Jared McCain bringing some defense to the table, and another thing that you have to note from this game is that, yes, he's still that sharp shooting guy. You still have to step up on him. Any phase of the game, you cannot give this guy space. Jared McCain becoming a very lethal offensive player, and he is doing this with or without SGA on the court. Now, with SGA taking all that attention, obviously it is going to be much more efficient with SGA on the floor. You know, his true shooting going from 57.4 with SGA down to 50 without on the season, and his three-pointer going from 40% with SGA generating those looks Down to 27% when SGA. isn't generating these looks. OKC, obviously, losing some depth guys, losing J-Dub, Chet, Cason. So whenever he's on the floor with some of these bench guys, there's going to be a lot more attention on a guy like McCain, who has been able to put up over 20 points per possession, three assists per 75 possessions, whenever SGA hasn't been on the floor. So he still is effective without SGA in total stats department. He's able to even generate more volume. But in the efficiency department, well, SGA makes Jared McCain that much better as a spot-up shooter, as a drive-and-kick type guy, whenever you have another threat like that on the floor. But we see McCain being effective in those non-SGA minutes as well, albeit not as efficiently. He is able to generate some offense and more proof that his game is coming along nicely. And when you take a look at the Thunder this season, they may be sitting at 8-3, but offense is something that they have needed, right? 28th in threes made specifically is where Jared McCain can help out. If he's able to really anchor in his three-point shot, he is a streaky shooter. If he's able to anchor that in, keep getting the looks that he's getting, well, that's going to be what makes him a 40% three-point shooter, right? Because we all know Jared McCain can shoot a basketball extremely well, but it's going to be how consistently can he get clean looks that dictate what his percentage is going to be this year. And the encouraging sign from the Trailblazers game last night with that give and go with With iHeart specifically, well, it is looking like bread and butter. To get McCain open as well as in rhythm for the shot. Super encouraging signs for OKC if they're going to make it back, you know, to some big stages like the Western Conference Finals, where Jared McCain was thrust into a starting role last year with AJ Mitchell and J-Dub missing some games. And in a game three performance, 24 points for Mr. McCain, a plus 28 rating. And he only shot two of 10 from the three. But you see him using that three point threat to get. Those other buckets, 10 of 21 from the field in his 27 minutes, grabbed four boards, had an assist in a big win in game three of the Western Conference Finals, OKC grabbing that 2-1 series lead in San Antonio behind a big performance by Jared McCain, where he once again wasn't hitting from three, but using that three-point threat to get other shots. So you're seeing both sides of the coin, an elite, lethal shooter, but also he's developing those skills. to weaponize the threat of his shooting and also on his off nights be able to score be able to be you know a competent useful player as well. The defensive, the rebounding, and the passing advancements also speak to you know his minutes whenever he is not shooting the ball well and it also speaks to why Sam Presti chose to pick up Jared McCain's rookie team option. This got picked Picked up for McCain, Thomas Sorber, and another player who I'm forgetting right now. But the one that got dropped was Nikola Topic, right? So you're taking a look at this team, their roster construction moving forward and how they plan on. Kind of trying to build a dynasty around their big three cornerstones that are locked in place. Cason Wallace locked in place. I heart locked in place. Jared McCain is another Sam Presti stamp player in this process. And he is a guy who is going to be improving. He's 22 years old. And realistically, these reps valuable, valuable reps for him. The injuries to J-Dub, to Cason Wallace. It's going to open up court time for Jared McCain, who's been playing over half of the game in this recent surge that he has had. You see that he's playing. Nearly 28 minutes per contest through this hot stretch. That, you know, comfortability on the floor, those reps, him getting in rhythm. It's going to go a long way for this team, especially if they make the playoffs and have a deep run again there. Well, Jared McCain shooting the ball well, it is going to be a very important factor. So I ask you guys, how big of a factor can this shooting become for Jared McCain? Can it be a major offensive X factor that I believe it can be even in opening up the game for other guys? Or could it be? Be a useful but streaky weapon, which is where I feel like it is right now. Very streaky for Mr. McCain, but he has some nights where, man, he's running guys out the building with that three ball. Or is it C, a recent run that is a small sample size spike? Because you saw earlier this year, I'm not hiding it, Jared McCain was struggling from the three-point line. Even in general, shooting 33.7% from the field until this recent stretch of games. He is a rather streaky player at this point in time, 22 years old, but I believe in his upside, especially in the offensive game and what he can do putting the ball on the floor as well. So I tend to believe that Jared McCain is working towards making this his nightly performance more than you know his weekly performance. So as OKC fans, this is something super encouraging to see and something we're also going to see Well, that is the get back against the Portland Trail Blazers. We lost last night 123 to 103 But we take them on yet again tonight, a back-to-back in Portland and coming up at 9 p.m Central Time This is the revenge game. Hopefully, Jared can play just as well as he did last night, and some other guys can step up for OKC to grab that W. Make sure that you subscribe to Thunder Digest so you can catch our post-game live streams from me and Ryan on the games, and any pregame action for the future, any player-centric videos like this. All of your OKC news content, all can be, and truly, one easy convenient place if you're subscribed to Thunder Digest. You won't have to worry about getting your news from anybody else other than me and Ryan. If you stuck around to this point in the video, I thank you so much for watching. And if you are hopefully subscribed at this point, I thank you for doing that as well. Hopefully, I'll see you in my next video, your beautiful face. And until that time, well, peace and love, my friends.