OKC Thunder fall flat in Game 1 vs. Rockets: player grades
OKC Thunder Starting Backcourt
A. . PG. Oklahoma City Thunder. CHRIS PAUL
Everyone knows how competitive Chris Paul is but this game and series carry a bit more emphasis for the veteran point guard. Being told he would return to Houston and not be traded to OKC only to have it happen a few days later is going to make him feel a certain way.
light. Related Story. The inevitable collision course of Chris Paul and the Rockets
That his emotions were likely amped up perhaps affected his play (occasionally) in the match, Regardless, he came one assist shy of a triple-double posting 29 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.
On most nights if you heard that stat line you’d feel pretty confident it was accompanied by a win. Unfortunately, it takes five players to win a game and in Game 1, there were more than a few missing in action.
B-. . G/F. Oklahoma City Thunder. SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
It might seem unfair to label Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as being responsible for the loss (he’s not) but he is the face of the franchise and because of his position he needs to do more if the OKC Thunder wants to win this series.
Granted, that’s a huge responsibility, and accomplishing the task will be difficult since the Rockets are more concerned with stopping him than virtually everyone else on the Thunder.
The combination of how physical Houston was with him and SGA not shooting effectively rendered him ineffective.
By game end, he’d scored nine points on 2 of 8 from the field (1 of 3 from deep) and added four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Simply not enough – not enough shots, not aggressive enough, and not enough assists.
I’m not underrating his potential or his future success — he’ll be a star for years but if the Thunder wants to win this series they’ll need more (a lot more) from SGA.