OKC Thunder come back vs. Warriors to capture first road win of season – player grades
PG. Oklahoma City Thunder. CHRIS PAUL. A+.
The next time someone tells you, Chris Paul, isn’t capable of providing quality minutes on the hardwood point them to this game. The only reason this match wasn’t lost by 30 was solely that CP3 refused to let his team quit and time after time made a momentum shifting play.
He strolled the hardwood in his typical raging bull fashion hitting shots when the team needed them, made key defensive plays and demonstrated why he was once considered the best leader in the NBA.
Paul scored 20 points, dished five assists grabbed seven rebounds including an important offensive board and snatched a pass for a steal. His four 3-point makes were ALL of the momentum shifting variety.
One thing is certain – I’d expect Sam Presti’s phone to be ringing after a performance the veteran point guard put on display tonight.
B+. . G/F. Oklahoma City Thunder. SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
Fueled by Chris Paul, Shai Gilgious-Alexander never quit. He got hit quite a bit in the paint without the benefit of calls but didn’t cower. Instead, he kept attacking the paint utilizing his unconventional yet beautiful series of moves to score or get the ball to a teammate. SGA dove for balls and never gave up. However, the two players who did the most damage for the Warriors were Ky Bowman and Glenn Robinson and Shai was often matched up with Bowman.
It wasn’t a performance punctuated by any one major stat stealing category. Rather, he did a bit of everything and worked in tandem with CP3. Arguably, the best part of this win was the Canadian getting to share the court with Paul and witness first hand what it will take to win when he eventually assumes the leadership role full time.
The young OKC Thunder star scored 12 points, grabbed five boards, dished three assists, added two steals and a block.