OKC Thunder: 3 things we learned in scrimmage vs. Celtics
Star improvement:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s teammates have heaped praise upon the sophomore regarding how different he looks since returning. Nerlens Noel said you can tell the game has slowed down for him. Friday, fans got to see precisely what Noel meant.
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
While the Canadian has always been able to use his silky floating style to hypnotize defenses then use his change of pace to throw them off there was something different on display Friday.
First, it’s clear he added some strength. His arms are obviously more chiseled and bulkier but his first move is even quicker. He darted by Celtics players regardless of talent level. Jaylen Brown is one of the best defenders and Marcus Smart is known as an All-Defensive team member but they were both caught napping on the SGA dart by.
Shai did it so many times Celtics analyst Brian Scalabrine who began the game citing the Celtics terrific defense quickly reverted to saying how poorly they were playing on defense. He specifically pointed to how easily Shai was getting to the basket and the numerous uncontested drive-by layins.
In fairness to Scalabrine, I think he’s simply not recognizing the leap SGA made during the hiatus. His shot has always been silky smooth but given the difference of shooting in the bubble, there were expectations the players would be rusty. Shai missed all three 3-point attempts but the form as always was smooth.
His stat line included 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 22:36 minutes.