Through the first two games of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder were missing something important: the usual contributions of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
His shot wasn’t falling. He wasn’t getting into the paint as effectively as last year, a time in which he and Luka Doncic were the best in the league at doing so.
Whether it was getting stamina back after a foot injury that cost him half of last season or simply a two-game slump at a meaningful time, Gilgeous-Alexander did not play well in games one and two.
He found his footing in the Thunder’s 115-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander amplified his driving in the second quarter. He started getting to the rim with apparent ease. He scored 11 points in the frame, and as Philadelphia adjusted, he was better able to set up outside shooting from Mike Muscala, who made a pair of 3s off SGA assists in the quarter.
If the guard’s impact wasn’t clear enough in the third quarter, it must have been during the beginning of the fourth when he was off the court. A nine-point deficit ballooned to 18 in the 2 minutes, 11 seconds before Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in. When he re-entered, the Thunder went on a 9-2 run.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points to go with six rebounds and eight assists, but his most telling stats were the plus-minus and from the free throw line:
- The guard plus-1 in 39 minutes of play. In the nine minutes he was out, Philly outscored the Thunder by 13.
- Over the first two games, Gilgeous-Alexander attempted five total free throws. On Sunday, he made 10 on 12 attempts.
Oh, he also hit this shot:
behind the back, side-step, contested 3.. see, there’s nothing to worry about.
Shai’s bag is deep! pic.twitter.com/9BygBcpTew
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) October 25, 2021
This was the type of game I wrote about following the Houston Rockets loss. Gilgeous-Alexander’s star power won’t be evaluated on wins and losses; it’ll be how he plays despite young and inexperienced teammates.
Sunday was an A-game for the Thunder cornerstone.
