3 OKC Thunder players that need to factor to win Game 7
The OKC Thunder cornerstone:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has experienced an up and down series. with a high of 31 points in Game 2 and a low of four points in the game, he wants to forget (Game 5).
| Rk | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | PTS | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | L (-15) | 35:08 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 3 | .333 | 4 | 1.000 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | -3 |
| 2 | 2 | L (-13) | 37:20 | 9 | 17 | .529 | 7 | .429 | 11 | .909 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 31 | +7 |
| 3 | 3 | W (+12) | 48:19 | 9 | 18 | .500 | 7 | .429 | 2 | 1.000 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 23 | +13 |
| 4 | 4 | W (+3) | 43:54 | 7 | 17 | .412 | 5 | .400 | 2 | 1.000 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 18 | -1 |
| 5 | 5 | L (-34) | 34:24 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -27 | |
| 6 | 6 | W (+4) | 39:24 | 4 | 11 | .364 | 5 | .400 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10 | -5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/2/2020.
Overall he’s shot the 3-ball with good efficiency and not forced himself to shoot too many. SGA’s priority is to find the perfect balance of playing with aggression but within himself. The rebounding disparity is crazy with 12in Game 4 and only two in Game 6. That might be a call Donovan made to ensure the club was getting back in transition as the emphasis over crashing the glass.
In the three games the Thunder won, Shai dished six assists — in the three games they lost, he had one, two, and four respectively. That ties into SGA making sure to be dialed in and to make the right decisions.
Something about Gilgeous-Alexander’s play has nagged at me the entire series. I’m leaning toward him having a nagging injury because it’s not just the defensive attention paid to him by the Rockets it’s the fact he’s missing his typical smooth glide and change of pace we’re accustomed to.
That said, I fully expect him to come out with that killer instinct and fight through whatever pain he’s feeling. He’s proven he won’t shy away from the spotlight and it wouldn’t be surprising if his best game of the series occurs tonight!