Oklahoma City's Offense Continues to Soar

The Thunder's offense hasn't slowed down one bit after a hot start to the season.

After a red-hot start to the season, it seemed almost inevitable that Oklahoma City's offense would fall off sooner rather than later. The numbers simply didn't seem sustainable, and everyone was waiting for the team to come back down to earth. That's not to say Oklahoma City isn't a really solid team, but it felt like they would need to find a way to make up for the inflated percentages.

Well, the season is now over a third of the way through, and the Thunder has shown no signs of slowing down. The offense is still dominant, and now it truly feels like opposing teams have no idea what to do against them.

Mark Daigneault's team ranks near the top of the standings in every offensive category. The Thunder ranks No. 6 in offensive rating at 118.8 and fourth in effective field goal percentage at 56.9%. Oklahoma City is fifth in the league in points per game at 121.2 a night. In addition, the Thunder ranks No. 3 in field goal percentage and No. 2 in 3-point percentage.

The Thunder's 3-point shooting has been unbelievably impressive, especially considering the team's MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled from the outside. Oklahoma City has eight players on the active roster shooting above 39% from downtown, and the number jumps up to 10 if you're counting the two-way contracts.

Currently, the Thunder is playing with the sixth fastest pace in the NBA which is allowing plenty of open 3-point attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander is what powers the Thunder's offense in the half court.

He has demanded so much attention from opposing defenses and it opens up the floor tremendously for the Thunder's offense. The reason he dominates the defensive attention is because he's averaging 31.4 points and shooting 54.8% from the floor.

As long as Gilgeous-Alexander is playing like an MVP candidate, the Thunder's offensive success will be sustainable. The team may not shoot like the prime Golden State Warriors all season, but the pace and offensive system Daigneault has installed is a well-oiled machine.

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