The Oklahoma City Thunder are still trying to climb their way back to .500 and still trying to figure things out offensively. Even in going 3-0 on their most recent homestand, the Thunder scored less than a point per possession in wins over the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. Then, in Thursday’s game in Mexico City, the Thunder shot 39 percent against the Brooklyn Nets’ bottom-10 defense.
Carmelo Anthony has been at the center of the Thunder’s struggles. Having shot 24-for-72 (33 percent) over the last five games, Anthony is at just 41 percent from the field this season. He has missed his last 13 3-point attempts, and with his free-throw rate at a career low 22 attempts per 100 shots from the field, his true shooting percentage of 50.8 percent is also the lowest of his career.
The Oklahoman‘s Brett Dawson spoke with Anthony and Thunder coach Billy Donovan about the forward’s shooting …
Playing at high altitude at Arena de Ciudad de Mexico didn’t help in his 5-for-20 performance. But Anthony saw his issues as bigger than that.
“For me, I think these past three, four games offensively has been the toughest stretch for me, as far as scoring the basketball, making shots,” Anthony said. “I don’t think it had anything to with the altitude for the most part. I think it’s just, for me, this is a rough stretch for myself personally. Probably the roughest that I’ve had throughout my career.”
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“You got to continue playing,” Anthony said. “You got to continue taking the shots that you normally take, that you know you can make, just being confident with that. Don’t let the missed shots and the inefficiency on the offensive end for myself as an individual affect you moving forward.”
