Jared McCain gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a lift Tuesday night, scoring 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in nearly 15 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. It was his most extensive run of the playoffs to that point, and the Thunder likely would have won without him.
That is the point. Oklahoma City can afford to trim McCain’s minutes in favor of more experienced rotational pieces, but his performance against a Lakers defense that left openings made him hard to ignore. The Thunder need as much shooting as they can get down the stretch of the series and, hopefully, into the Western Conference Finals.
McCain’s role had looked limited before Tuesday. Outside of Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns, he largely rode the bench during the four-game sweep, though he did play 12 minutes in that game. Near the end of the regular season, McCain, Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williams did not sit with the rest of the normal rotational players over the Thunder’s final two games, a sign the team was already sorting through the edge of the rotation.
Isaiah Joe is part of that conversation, too. He has shot 34.8% from beyond the arc in the four playoff games he has appeared in, and he missed Game 3 against the Suns for personal reasons. That leaves the Thunder weighing two shooters with different playoff tracks, at a moment when every clean look matters.
McCain did not force the issue with a season-defining outing. He simply made shots when the door opened, and that may be enough to keep him in the discussion. For Oklahoma City, the next decision is whether his shooting is a one-night answer or a real rotation choice.
