Point God on full display as OKC Thunder erase 26 point deficit to beat Bulls – player grades
CHRIS PAUL. A++++++. . PG. Oklahoma City Thunder
A remarkable individual performance – the stuff of which legends are made.
The stats don’t even do justice to what the Point God delivered this evening although they give some hints. He came two assists shy of a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists plus two steals. His shooting efficiency was ridiculous as he shot 9 of 12 from the field 6 of 8 from deep and was 6 of 6 from the line. And – when he took over the game in the fourth he scored 19 of his 30 points.
The picture above also speaks to the effect Chris Paul had on the game. After games, it’s common to shake hands with the opponent or catch up with a friend but one after the other of the Bulls players lined up to shake hands and speak to CP3. Granted, he’s the NBAPA President — but this sure didn’t seem like it was a business conversation — rather this was players recognizing the greatness they just witnessed first hand. And, as Paul said after the game Wendell and Coby are both players he’s known since they were kids. Point God – indeed!
I could write an entire series on that fourth quarter alone – for those wanting more you can be sure this will come up again tomorrow in the three takeaways.
B-. . G/F. Oklahoma City Thunder. SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
It was an off night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who wasn’t right straight from the tip. He was definitely dialed in late defensively but his field goal attempts speak to his lack of aggression although kudos need to be paid to the Bulls defensive plan on SGA.
He took only three shots (IN TOTAL) on the night scoring seven points with five of those coming at the charity stripe. In addition, he grabbed three rebounds, dished two dimes and had a steal but he also coughed up five turnovers.
Far from his best performance but the best part of the night is that he was on the court to experience the comeback first hand and bore witness to how a player can lead his squad in a game of this nature coming back from 26 points down. SGA will get more value out of this game than one in which he was clicking and the sponge will most certainly apply this in the future.