Oklahoma City Thunder: Terrance Ferguson’s underrated impact

Terrance Ferguson has established himself in his second season in the NBA as a long-term starter for the OKC Thunder . How has he found a role that has impacted the Thunder in such a positive way?

Terrance Ferguson, although not a household name in the NBA yet, is making a huge impact for the OKC Thunder this season. After not finding much of a role in his rookie season last year, he has found himself as a crucial starter for the Thunder this season.

After averaging just 12.5 minutes per game in his rookie campaign, he has doubled his minutes and is now playing 25.0 minutes per game this season. Ferguson has found his place on the Thunder as an outstanding 3-and-D player.

With Andre Roberson‘s left knee injury keeping him sidelined for much longer than expected, Ferguson has gone from a temporary starter for the Thunder to their starting shooting guard of the future.

He has made such an impact this season on both ends of the floor that even upon Roberson’s return, there is no guarantee that Roberson would automatically assume his starting duties.

Although making an impact outside of just typical stats, he has made a drastic jump this season. He has more than doubled his points per game, as well as improved his assists and rebounds per game this season over last. He also has improved his 3-point shooting by 3.5 percent.

Of all second-year players in the NBA,  Ferguson is 10th in defensive win shares. Defense is something the Thunder have thrived on this season and has been one of the main reasons they have established themselves firmly in the playoff picture.

On the offensive end of the floor, Ferguson is shooting an impressive 36.8 percent from deep this season, good for third best on the team.

In the months of January and February, when Oklahoma City was playing some of its best basketball of the season, Ferguson led the team in 3-point percentage at an astonishing 42.4 percent over that two-month stretch.

During that timeframe, Oklahoma City went 15-10 and was second in the NBA in 3-point percentage.

Ferguson showed how valuable he was in live action against the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night in a big game for playoff seeding. He had the Thunder’s last bucket of regulation on a putback lay-up, followed by a momentum-shifting block in overtime.

Perhaps the most important minutes of Ferguson’s season have yet to be played. After only playing six minutes all of last season’s playoffs, Ferguson is going to be playing much more than that this time around.

Assuming Roberson does not return for the playoffs, Ferguson will have to make another leap as a player and do things he has not been asked to do at this level.

If Ferguson is able to make this jump and Roberson is not able to be the player he was prior to his injury, Roberson could be expendable beyond his current contract. Roberson does not have nearly the offensive upside that Ferguson has shown.

Will Ferguson rise to the occasion and help Oklahoma City get out of the first round?