The Oklahoma City Thunder have started Luguentz Dort in every game of the Western Conference Finals. They’ve been outscored with Dort on the floor in all six games.
Dort has a negative plus/minus even in the two games where the Thunder won by double digits. For the series, the San Antonio Spurs have outscored the Thunder by 60 points in the 109 minutes Dort has played, and the Thunder should be considering a change for Game 7.
Lu Dort’s poor shooting outweighing his defense
Dort made the All-Defensive first team last season, a testament to his effectiveness on that side of the ball. He’s strong enough to guard bigger players and has good enough hands to average nearly one steal per game during the regular season. However, he only has three steals in six games this series and got into foul trouble in the Thunder’s Game 1 and Game 4 losses.
Where Dort has struggled is the offensive side of the ball, specifically his shooting. He’s shooting only 4-of-22 from three-point range, going 1-of-9 in Game 6. Given that three-pointers made up 71 percent of Dort’s shot diet so far in this series and 64.8 percent of his shots in the regular season, an inability to make threes kills his offensive value.
The Thunder have already cut Dort’s minutes, but it might be time to start games with a more effective guard — specifically, All-Defensive guard Cason Wallace.