The OKC Thunder are on a very successful road trip and kept the momentum going against the Brooklyn Nets. TI examines 3 takeaways from the victory.
The OKC Thunder did not have to travel far for the game against Brooklyn, as they were already in New York after a strong victory against the New York Knicks a mere forty-eight hours ago. On that night the Thunder started slow but built into the game with a strong performance from the bench, in particular Hamidou Diallo.
In a season with few expectations on the rebuilding OKC Thunder, they started the season surprisingly well sitting with a four and four record, this record could have very easily been six and two if a couple of plays had gone the other way down the stretch.
Tonight they faced the Brooklyn nets lead by former MVP Kevin Durant, and even though the Thunder came in as heavy underdogs they played with the same fire and energy they have become known for.
Tonight we look at 3 things that stuck out from the road game against the Brooklyn Nets.
No. 1) OKC Thunder cornerstone SGA learned a lot from Chris Paul last year:
Watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play is an absolute joy as he has become a maestro with the ball in hand over the last 18 months. he’s grown into one of the better young point guards in the league and a lot of credit needs to go to one Chris Paul.
Watching Shae play you can see so many aspects of the way Chris has always played the game. From his little rip through moves to the way he effortlessly put his man in jail coming around a ball screen.
SGA owns the opportunity and finishes with 31p/6r/7a/2s pic.twitter.com/L9eQd44SEb
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 11, 2021
It’s all classic CP3 and it’s all beautiful to watch. The biggest part of Paul’s game that SGA has adopted has been the ability to play the game at his own pace. Shae never seems flustered or rushed and he forces the rest of the game to slow down to his speed.
This has a ripple effect on the rest of the team. When the opposition goes on a run, OKC always seems to stay calm and work their way back into the game. Which has been evident in the many times already this year we have come back from large deficits.