https://youtu.be/Us8J8bKYQRc
Ty Jerome and his team-high 23 points really kept the Thunder afloat in this game, except he didn’t really, because the Thunder still lost by 21 when all was said and done. All he did was prevent a blowout from turning into an even more devastating blowout. Not that this year’s iteration of the Thunder isn’t used to getting blown out in devastating fashion. As the season winds down, this is basically every game for them.
Every player on the Thunder’s active roster is a sub-par three-point shooter outside of Kenrich Williams (who did not play this game because his feelings were hurt by somebody making fun of his afro mullet) and Ty Jerome. This game saw them shoot 9-of-39 from deep, good for 23% percent, and that includes Jerome’s helpful 3-of-6 mark from the threezone. His teammates shot a combined 18% from three in this one. That’s gotta be brutal to watch if you’re a Thunder fan, but then again, if you’re a Thunder fan who’s still watching games, you’re not watching the games because you’re interested in seeing shots go through the net. You’re interested in seeing player development. Shots going through the net is just a rare side-effect of young players developing in front of your eyes.
Jerome doesn’t need as much development as some of his teammates, which is maybe why I’ve grown to be a big fan of his. Second-year players who can be successful even when the on-court product around him is somewhat dysfunctional are rare. Down the line, when GM’s are trying to figure out whether or not to sign this guy, they’re going to say “remember when this dude scored 10 PPG per game on good percentages even though nobody else on his team could shoot and the OKC front office purposely sabotaged the team in order to reduce their overall skill level and increase the chances of getting high picks in the draft?” And then they’ll sign this dude to a 4-year, forty million dollar contract. Book it.