3-point shooting continues to sink
KYLE SINGLER REPORT CARD
3-POINT SHOOTING
FSingler took 37 3-point shots this season. He made seven. How did this happen? In Singler’s second pro season, just three years ago, he made 48.5 percent of his corner 3-pointers. When traded to OKC just 27 months ago, Singler was making 40.6 percent of his 3-pointers for Detroit. Since then, Singler’s long-distance shooting has dropped straight down — .370 for OKC the rest of that season, .309 last season, .189 this season. Singler made just three of 15 corner 3’s. Andre Roberson has outshot Singler each of the last two seasons.
DEFENSE
BSingler has been plagued by excessive fouls throughout his career. His first two seasons with OKC, Singler averaged 4.3 and 4.4 fouls per 36 minutes. But this season, Singler fouled at a far less clip – 2.7 per 36 minutes. Only Doug McDermott, Anthony Morrow, Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo fouled less frequently. Singler allowed respectable 44.3 percent shooting as the primary defender. His defense is actually acceptable when he’s not putting the foe on the foul line.
FEEL
DBasketball doesn’t seem to come easy to Singler. His 0.3 assists per game ranked last among the 19 players who suited up this season. His assist rate (percentage of teammates’ field goals while a player is on the court) was 3.2, second-worst on the team, behind only Ersan Ilyasova, who played just three games. Singler’s assist rate was 7.3 just two years ago. Singler’s steal rate – percentage of opponents’ possessions that end with a steal by a particular player – was a career low 0.9, 16th among Thunder players. Singler tries hard, but it’s just not working.
HUSTLE
ASingler’s one consistent positive Thunder trait is that he hustles back on defense, which has been needed at times over his 2-½ years. This season, Singler also had his moments in hustling on offense. He proved adept at scoring off the fast break, making 25 of 35 shots from inside five feet, and Singler wasn’t getting those field goals in the flow of normal offense.
Hustling fits well with Russell Westbrook’s game — playing approximately 98 court minutes with Westbrook, the Thunder outscored foes by 50 points.