Terrence Shannon Jr.'s opening stretch of the season was defined by a desperate, failing struggle to carve out a reliable NBA role. His playing time began to evaporate after a disastrous outing on 10/24 vs LAL, where he went scoreless and posted a brutal -17.5 impact score due to bricked jumpers and a complete failure to facilitate. He briefly looked like a spark plug off the bench on 11/27 vs OKC. Pouring in 18 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting yielded a +8.2 impact score, driven purely by an unsustainable scoring heater. Just two days later on 11/29 vs BOS, Shannon tallied 10 points but registered a dismal -10.6 impact score. Despite hitting double figures, his complete lack of peripheral production—logging zero boards and zero assists—dragged his overall value into the gutter. By December, his minutes had dwindled to mere cameos, exposing a one-dimensional game that actively hurts his team when the shots stop falling.

This brutal mid-season stretch was defined by pure cardio and an absolute inability to find an offensive rhythm. Shannon was a ghost off the bench. During a disastrous outing on 12/26 vs DEN, he logged 10 minutes without recording a single point, rebound, or assist. Missing all three of his shots generated a staggering -17.1 impact score, as his complete lack of box-score production forced his teammates to play four-on-five basketball. Even when given a massive 30-minute runway on 12/13 vs GSW, his 9 points still resulted in a -4.5 impact score. The hidden cost of that scoring output was his mediocre 3-for-7 shooting, which stalled the offense with empty possessions. He finally found a fleeting spark on 03/10 vs LAL, pouring in 12 points in just 8 minutes. That sudden burst of hyper-efficient shooting yielded a +5.5 impact score, revealing exactly what happens when a reserve guard actually hits his open looks.