He Changes The OKC Thunder’s NBA Title Odds to 90%

He Changes The OKC Thunder’s NBA Title Odds to 90%

Despite the OKC Thunder being a very young team that lacks collective experience in the postseason the reality is it’s going to be hard to put a cap on what this team can accomplish in the playoffs they have a superstar and legitimate MVP Contender and Shay Giles Alexander they have a second-year player

Who’s putting a borderline All-Star numbers in Jaylen Williams they got rookie Chad hren whose impact to this team has been literally historical and they also got third-year man Josh giddy who’s still continuing to expand his skill set as a 6’8 guard wi hybrid but the thing is in an ideal playoff setting

Wherein rotations are trimmed down and when buckets are harder to come by the determining factor for whether or not this team can go deep in the postseason might have to come from somewhere else basically the Thunder Championship odds could actually hinge on the impact of the role players particularly that of

6’4 guard Isaiah Joe a former second round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers who over the past one and a half seasons has evolved into one of the most impactful role players in the entire NBA for OKC after being waved by Philadelphia in the summer of 2022 the Thunder signed Joe to

A three-year deal worth just under 6 million and with how he been playing over the past two years not only is Joe’s contract looking like a massive steal but Joe himself is also starting to look like one of the best free agent signings in OKC Thunder history well at

First glance Joe’s numbers are nothing special as they would reflect what a typical role player would actually produce in less than 19 minutes per game he averaging just more than eight points more than two rebounds and one assist however when you dive a little deeper it’s when you’ll see just how

Mind-blowing his impact has been for OKC well for sure the Thunder already have the third best offensive rating and the second best net rating in the NBA right now but when Isaiah Joe is on the floor the team’s offense spikes up even further to 126.5 points per 100

Possessions while their net rating also skyrockets to plus 14.8 both of which would actually rank first in the entire NBA while I’m not saying that Isaiah Joe is is an All-Star level talent but in this video Let’s dive deeper into how OKC has been maximizing Isaiah Joe’s

Skill set and why he could become the team’s biggest X Factor come playoff time let’s get to It the moment Isaiah Joe checks into the game for OKC he immediately looks to fire away from the three-point line rightfully so not only is Joe a high volume three-point shooter who ranks second in three-point attempts among o K’s roster behind lud Dort with almost five attempts per game but Joe is also

Very accurate as his current 42.6% mark from the three-point line is actually the 14th best in the entire NBA among all 204 players to attempt at least 100 three-point shots this season as a predominantly catch and shoot scorer Isaiah Joe’s sweet shooting stroke and quick trigger from Deep has just been a

Perfect fit with OKC’s downhill attack based offensive system as it currently stands the Thunder ranked first in the entire NBA a in drives per game by a pretty wide margin averaging seven drives per game more than the second place team which is the Indiana Pacers and this comes as no surprise as sheay

Gilis Alexander is the most frequent driver in the entire NBA while Oki sees two other secondary ball handlers in Jay dub and Josh giddy are also most effective when they are able to attack the paint this is when Isaiah Joe’s game comes into the equation whenever he’s on

The floor his shooting threat from the perimeter alone opens up driving lanes for his teammates while at the same time is always ready to be a release valve and a kick out option whenever the defense collapses on OKC’s drivers however the thing is asking Joe to Simply spot up from the perimeter would

Be a waste of his skill set so instead of asking him to just stand around the corner and to wait for a kick out pass coach dagal has actually been maximizing Joe’s minutes by using him both as a screener and as a movement shooter which makes halfcourt actions involving him

Very hard to defend for opposing teams in this play you can see Shay as the ball handled with Isaiah Joe running a ghost screen instead of making actual contact with kaminga Joe slips right into the three-point line then you can see Shay’s gravity forcing the entire Warriors defense to collapse into paint

Leaving Joe as an easy target for the kick out as he makes kaminga pay by hitting the three-pointer then again here with giddy as the ball handler you can see Joe approaching and setting a GH screen well Moses Moody still right in front of him preventing Joe from

Receiving a pass from giddy but then Chad homr sets a flare screen to free up Joe giving him just enough daylight to drain the three-pointer plus the foul against two Defenders but also the good thing about Joe is that even in those times when he isn’t directly involved in

An on Ball action he’s constantly analyzing the floor and relocating to advantageous positions to be able to free himself up from the perimeter a lot of times you’d actually see him hanging around the paint only to sprint out to the three-point line once a teammate starts to attack this action basically

Forces Joe’s Defender to either help on the driving player or to defend him from behind the ark in this play you can see Joe trying to run a handoff play with Jay will Donovan Mitchell denies Joe quite well so Jay will passes the ball to Dort instead but as Dort prepares to

Drive you can see Joe in the paint sprinting out to the corners Mitchell is Frozen not knowing who to defend enabling Dort to make the short kick out to Joe who drains the wide open three against the late close out then in this play you can see OKC running a Spain

Pick and roll with Jay dub initiating the offense KAS Wallace sets a ball screen while Joe flares out behind the ark now with the threat of JW driving game ha hawz now has to pick his poison he makes the mistake of giving Joe this much daylight as he drains the Deep

Three-pointer well being an elite three-point shooter is definitely good but the problem is if it’s the only weapon you have in your Arsenal modern day switching NBA defenses should still be able to neutralize your impact especially in the playoffs the good thing about Isaiah Joe is that he’s

Worked hard to turn himself into more than just a sharp shooter when quick and lengthy defenders close out in his outside shot Joe is able to put the ball on the floor create his own driving lane and manufacture his own shot whether it be at The Rim or from the mid-range plus

Joe is also a pretty solid decision maker with the ball in his hands who can make quick hitting passes when defenses try to trap him basically it’s safe to say that Joe has ways to fight all sorts of tactics that defenses might deploy against him in the postseason in this

Possession you can see Shay making the skip pass to KAS Wallace in the weak side who swings the ball to Isaiah Joe dejon Murray is quick to close out but Joe easily Blows By him before attacking the open Lane and showing off his bounds as he finishes the tough shot against

Aung Wu this time you can see Joe flaring out to the three-point line and receiving the wreck from Jay dub he already blows by D’Angelo Russell but just watch how patient he is going for the side step to get a cleaner shot as he drains the mid-range jumper then in

This play Dort finds Joe in the perimeter and facing a lengthy defender in jayen McDaniels Joe is able to drive into the paint but seeing a mismatch under the basket he LS his defender in before making the smart drop off pass to Chad home Grand who SC right at The Rim

Well with his gravity as a floor spacer together with all the other things that it opens up for his teammates I think there’s definitely a case for Isaiah Joe being part of a ton of closing lineups for OKC in the playoffs especially during highly contested close games though the only potential problem with

Him being a consistent part of those closing lineups is how he would Faire on the defensive end of the floor well don’t get me wrong Isaiah Joe is an incredibly willing Defender for a guard but depending on who you ask Joe stands at only around 6′ 3 or 6’4 he’s not

Nearly as bulky as someone like Lou Dort and he’s not nearly as big as Josh giddy either and the thing is historically players of his build typically get targeted by opposing ball handlers in the postseason so I think the only question here will be can Joe actually

Do enough on the defensive end for him to stay on the floor so that the Thunder can reap the benefits that his offensive game brings but the good thing is Isaiah Joe is still a much better Defender than a lot of players from his archetype such as guys like Seth Curry are Duncan

Robinson who actually share similar roles with Joe on their respective teams overall on defense Joe has solid lateral movement he’s got quick instincts and he’s also very Scrappy in fact this season Joe ranks sixth in the entire NBA in charges drawn per game and seventh in charges drawn per 36 minutes but most

Specially I love that although he’s not as Elite as Dort or Shay or even Cas Wallis on defense Joe actually knows how to deploy his quick hands in order to take advantage of the pressure ated by OKC’s main point of attack defenders in this possession OKC plays Zone and you

Can see LeBron being guarded by Shay while Joe guards Austin Reeves on the wing but as LeBron drives you can see Joe with an instinctive help defense as he forces the turn over for the Lakers then here in semi- transition you can see Joe actually picking up shake Milton

And Walling him off from attacking the Lane Milton is forced to give up the ball but then watch Joe straight up stripping the ball away from Carl Anthony towns causing OKC to regain possession well up to this point of the season season Isaiah Joe has been playing the most efficient and the most

Impactful basketball of his young career but more importantly it also helps that his game appears to be a tailor made fit with that of sheay Gil’s Alexander as per PBP stats dating back to last season the Thunder have produced a plus 11.3 net rating in the more than 1,400

Minutes that Joe and sgaa have shared the floor together that’s way higher than sga’s net rating with either one of Jay dub Josh giddy or even lud Dort within that span of time well for sure only time will tell how coach digal will get the best out of him come playoff

Time but it’s starting to look like Isaiah Joe may end up being the difference between the Thunder being just playing overachievers and them being actual big winners in the postseason so thank you guys if you’ve actually made it this far into the video and if you’ve actually enjoyed this one

Please do me a favor by hitting that like button it only takes a second of your time but it will be much appreciated but also do you think Isaiah Joe could really become that x fact for OKC this coming postseason feel free to drop your thoughts in the comment

Section below and again if you’re new to the Channel please consider subscribing as well again this has been roll balls and I’ll see you in the next one peace

#NBA #OklahomaCityThunder #NBAhighlights

The OKC Thunder are one of the youngest teams in the NBA and yet, they are already looking like legitimate championship contenders. The Thunder rank in the top five of both offensive and defensive ratings and their core is filled with talent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already potential the 2024 NBA Most Valuable Player, Jalen Williams or Jdub is already putting up borderline all-star numbers as a sophomore, Chet Holgren is a rookie of the year contender, Josh Giddey is still a walking mismatch, and Lu Dort is one of the best defenders in the NBA. The OKC Thunder have also traded for Gordon Hayward, adding a strong veteran to their team, despite losing young guys in Tre Mann and Aleksej Pokusevski. Sam Presti has built a really good team in Oklahoma City.

But in the NBA playoffs where the Thunder will have to face experienced veteran teams like Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, or Domantas Sabonis and the Kings, OKC has to dig deep into their rotation to find contributors. They have a deep bench which includes Cason Wallace, Kenrich Williams, Gordon Hayward, Jaylin Williams, and Ousmane Dieng, but it’s the impact of sharpshooting guard Isaiah Joe that stands out. Let’s dive into the impact of Isaiah Joe and why he is the Okc Thunder’s biggest playoff X-factor

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