Stiles Points: Lu Dort’s Progression Is Real, and Needed

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Lu Dort take a step up as an efficient player offensively. That improvement is real and needed.

This season has been different for Lu Dort. While he has continued to hound some of the best scorers in this league making their life difficult night in and night out and helping boost Oklahoma City to a top-five defense in the association he has added efficient offense to the fold. 

Dort is shooting a career-high from the floor, beyond the arc, at the rim, in the corner and above the break. The Thunder defensive ace is shooting 43 percent on spot-up chances and 41 percent on catch-and-shoot opportunities. 

The Arizona State product has admitted this improvement can be chalked up to improved decision making a point to watch film this summer with the intent of cutting out "bad shots," from his shot diet. 

He has done just that, his ability to play under control has directly led to turning him into a 3-and-D player stroking the trey ball at a 40 percent clip during the 2023-24 campaign. 

There is no reason to think this is a flash in the pan for Dort, either, as the 24-year-old has already proven to be a big game player highlighted by his 30-point game seven as a rookie against the Rockets in the NBA Bubble. 

While many cast aside Sunday's beat down with "it was just Memphis," that is the exact reason why Dort's improvement stands out. Even while going 5-for-5 from the floor (4-for-4 from deep) in a wire-to-wire blowout, Dort did not jack up shots and attribute it to a hot hand. 

The lack of heat checks against a toothless team continues to prove that this is not just a blimp but sustained improvement for the Thunder starting swingman. 

Stiles Points

• Jalen Williams has been tabbed as questionable on the Thunder's initial injury report against the Indiana Pacers. This is on the heels of a few cryptic social media posts that stirred the pot. It is important to note, this is a team of young players who love social media and it is also just fun to stir pots!
• Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer released a new 2024 NBA Mock Draft on Monday, pegging the Thunder to select UCONN's Donovan Clingan. 
• The OKC Thunder cling to a half-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Western Conference after the Nuggets made an epic comeback against the Raptors on Monday. The race continues to heat up with just 18 games left in the regular season. 
• The Thunder sent Ousmane Dieng down to the OKC Blue as the G League plays out the stretch of their season. Mark Daigneault discussed how valuable these G League reps are for the second-year forward who is getting to blend his development to fit both how he needs to impact the Thunder right away while improving some of his tantalizing skills like playmaking for his size. 
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was once again nominated for the Western Conference Player of the Week award, losing out to Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. The two will go head-to-head on Thursday in the Paycom Center. 

Song of the Day: Real Love Baby by Father John Misty. 

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Lu Dort's 3-Point Improvement Proof of Another Thunder Success Story

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