Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Could be Poised for Offensive Outburst in Game 2

While stilling putting up a near 30-point outing on Sunday, Gilgeous-Alexander had much more he left on the table.

The Oklahoma City Thunder grinded out a 94-92 win in Game 1 of the first round versus the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, and it was a tall task for the hometown team.

A game-high 28-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paved the way for the Thunder in the scoring department, but there was still a lot left to be desired from one of the best offenses in the entire league in the win. Of course, it's the playoffs, things are destined to be more challenging and pressing, but Oklahoma City was missing shots that aren't typically missed to their standards.

Open threes on the outside, many clanked off. Shots on the rim weren't always falling, even from one of the most adept finishers in the league in Gilgeous-Alexander. 43.5% from the field and 31.3% from distance aren't greatly awful numbers by any means, but there's still a lot of room for improvement for Oklahoma City's offense heading into Game 2.

And that biggest improvement should likely come from Gilgeous-Alexander, so long as he's able to get the looks as he did on Sunday night. He was draped with Herb Jones shadowing him time and time again, but there were plenty of looks in his 13 misses from the floor that he could've taken advantage of.

Head coach Mark Daigneault surely isn't oblivious to how the Pelicans will approach defending Gilgeous-Alexander, and he'll assuredly come out with a game plan to try and combat their tactics. Gilgeous-Alexander made most of his living in the midrange on Sunday, which isn't atypical at all, but testing out different options to open up the lane without Jonas Valanciunas clogging it is something that could generate more offense through finishes in the paint or on the drive-and-kick.

Oklahoma City's offensive lull wasn't all that big of a lull all things considered, and this will likely be the most locked down this Pelicans team will have on the Thunder. Looking to Game 2, expect Gilgeous-Alexander to be a step above his performance in Game 1.

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