OKC Thunder youngsters break out in second win of season – player grades

Although it was his backcourt partner putting up the scoring early the tone was set by the wily vet who was dropping dimes like no one’s business to start the match.

If you’ve ever watched the movie ‘Raging Bull’ the way Chris Paul was walking (or stomping) on the court it felt like he was channeling a young Robert De Niro who portrayed Jake LaMotta in the movie. CP3 exuded the same type of swag and confidence as he controlled the game and never let the Pelicans pull ahead by a large margin or the Thunder fall into a typical dry spell as they’ve experienced in previous outings.

Repeatedly he was zipping passes to his teammates setting them up for easy lay-ins, dunks or 3-pointers. It was like watching a master teach his prize students a lesson and we were the benefactors of the master class.

His stat line of 15 points 1 rebound, 9 assists, and 3 steals doesn’t do his performance justice.  He also connected on three of his five 3-point attempts.

The plus in the grade is granted for his leadership because each (or rather all but one) youngster on the court today exuded his same swag which implies he’s rubbing off on his young charges.

Like CP3, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ready from the tip. The young guard aggressively took the offense to the Pelicans. His moves are becoming almost a “thing” because they are equal parts jaw-dropping and esthetically pleasing.

In the years when the Spurs ran their heavy motion offense, I remember thinking it was like a symphony on the hardwood. With SGA it’s a similar situation where each time out he leaks a new section of his magical opus.

At 21 years old and beginning his sophomore season Gilgeous-Alexander is far from a fully developed player. It will be a year or two until he reaches the point when the game will slow down for him. With how smooth he already is it’s hard to fathom precisely how high his ceiling is.

The best news is we’ll get to experience it as he grows and there are many more magical moves and nights ahead.

With his young counterparts also producing his scoring efforts weren’t required as much in the second half. In fact, he only took three shots after half time. He tallied 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block, shot three of five from deep and four of five from the line.