The Thunder's Deep Range Deadeye Has Found His Shot Once Again

One of OKC’s deadliest outside threats seems to be showing signs of life once again.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently rolling through the playoffs, as they are now up 3-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, after beating the Lakers 131-108 on Saturday night. OKC once again had a dominating showing, and this time, a player who has been quite this postseason got in on the action.

Thunder guard Isaiah Joe got his feet wet on Saturday night, as he seemed to look more like his old self again. Joe had 12 points, hitting four threes while shooting 66.7% from beyond the arc. This is a great sign for the Thunder, as Joe has struggled so far this postseason.

Before Saturday night, the regular sharpshooter was only averaging 6.8 points per game in the postseason, on an unusual 33.3% shooting from three. Joe hadn’t been much help in any other areas for the Thunder either, averaging only one assist and not even one rebound.

He cleaned these stats up as well on Saturday night with five rebounds, two assists and even swiped a steal for OKC. As mentioned, this is a great sign for the Thunder, but this stat line wouldn’t have turned any heads a couple of months ago.

Joe averaged 11.1 points per game on 42.3% shooting from deep, as well as 2.1 rebounds in the regular season. He led the Thunder in three-point shooting percentage and was a key part of the defending champions' offense.

Joe even proved that he could take over games himself with his ability to shoot from deep, as he had multiple games in the regular season where he made at least six shots from beyond the arc. While the absence of Joe’s usual play hasn’t been detrimental for OKC, it will surely help the team if he continues to keep this play up.

With the help of Joe, the Thunder shot 45% from three in Game 3 as a team, which is leaps and bounds better than their 37.7% average for this postseason. This shooting from deep allowed OKC to blow out the Lakers and take full control of the series, as it only needs one more win to complete its second sweep of the postseason.

Joe has been a key piece for OKC all year with his ability to light up the perimeter with his shot. Now that his flame is lit once again, the Thunder could be even more dangerous for the remainder of the postseason.

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