Thunder Success Hinges on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Fourteen games through the season, Oklahoma City sat at 6-8 and just one game removed from the NBA’s Western Conference play-in spot.
Hot takes were had, All-Star assumptions were made and non-tankers rejoiced.
Fast-forward a few more games, several players are in slumps and a 13-point loss to the Houston Rockets has fans questioning how good the Thunder really are.
OKC, thus far, has been polarizing. As has its star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
There are none more important to the Thunder’s success than the fourth-year. As the teams best player, it’s an easy assumption. But at the peak of Gilgeous-Alexander’s season the Thunder looked legitimate. And in the lows, painstakingly the opposite.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA TODAY Sports
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20.2 points on 40 percent shooting this season, a decent drop off from last season. His 40 percent field goal mark is handedly the lowest of his career, the next closest being 47 percent his rookie season in Los Angeles.
In the Thunder’s six-game win-streak, their longest of the season, Gilgeous-Alexander has seen two inactive, and averaged just 17.0 points per game on 36 percent shooting from the field. He’s hit just 25 percent of his seven attempted 3-pointers per game.
Other players have seen increases in play: Lu Dort is seeing highs across the board and the addition of Josh Giddey is a factor in and of itself.
And yet the Thunder continue to trudge through the season.
In Oklahoma City’s wins this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 21.6 points per contest. He has yet to have a negative plus-minus in any OKC win so far.
Several things will have to happen for Oklahoma City to see consistent this season, and not all the pressure can be put on Gilgeous-Alexander. But it starts with him.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will be back in action against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
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