It was another day in the office for the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A day before the announcement of the league’s MVP, SGA went off against fellow MVP candidate Luka Doncic with the same calm demeanour. The Mavs tried to beat OKC superstar with their size but the Canadian float through every opponent to score 29 points with nine assists and nine rebounds.
It was another showcase of how the steady hand of coach Mark Daigneault leads the young Thunder to success. OKC needed a burst in the fourth quarter to crack open the game and leave behind the exhausted Dallas Mavericks. In the first three quarters, Gilgeous-Alexander kept his team ahead, while in the fourth a small burst by forward Jalen Williams who scored 10 of his 18 in the final quarter push Doncic and co. aside.
It was another example of why the Thunder should not be taken lightly this postseason. It will be an understatement to say that OKC is ready to make noise in the West and should be considered among the favourites to return to the NBA Finals for the first time in 11 years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had remind us again on Tuesday after leading the franchise to the top-seed of the Western Conference.
In the playoffs, the Thunder remain poised and ready digging deep into their bench when needed. Last night, it was time for Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins to step up in the perimeter, while Isaiah Joe gave some valuable moments as a floor-stretcher for OKC. The Thunder put pressure in the Mavericks perimeter as Luka Doncic scored 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting and had five turnovers.
At the same time, Kyrie Irving who ran rampant in the series vs. Clippers was kept down to 20 as the Thunder cruised to victory.
The two key components of Thunder’s postseason success so far
SGA is keeping opponents on his toes. In 5 playoff games, his production remain at the highest level while also had a minimal drop in efficiency despite the fact that he goes against opponents that are prepared for him to guard him. The Dallas Mavericks did that, but Shai rose above them going into the paint and pounding on defenders to end up with 13 free throw attempts and 11 points from the charity stripe in Game 1.
In addition to SGA, Lu Dort remains a terrifying defensive force as the Thunder are a plus-16.4 with him on the floor in five playoff games. In the meantime, the Canadian wing is making 50% of his three-point shots in six attempts per game in the five game that OKC participated in the playoffs so far.
Dort finds the space in the perimeter thanks to defences collapsing on Gilgeous-Alexander, but he’s the most valuable piece of Thunder team in the first 5 games of the postseason as the Thunder are a minus-8.0 with him on the floor.
The MVP candidate is attacking the paint relentlessly this season and still making shots on a high clip shooting 50 percent on 2-pointers through the playoffs. The Thunder are outplaying opponents being a plus-19.4 with SGA on the floor as he has the ability to make the opponents play on his own pace.
Should the Thunder be looked as real title contenders
The OKC Thunder showed potential during the regular season with a frenetic run that ended with the first overall seed in the Western Conference. In the NBA playoffs, they made a quick work of the New Orleans Pelicans who had to face the first seed without superstar Zion Williamson.
The eye test confirms that OKC have what it takes to make a deep playoff run and why not surpass the previous Thunder team led by Durant and Westbrook. The Celtics seem to be the deepest team in the league and the group with the best chance to win it all, but OKC Thunder and SGA seem to be hungry enough to beat the odds.
