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OKC Thunder: What we learned in the second preseason game

By Rylan Stiles

Justin Robinson #55 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots the ball against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during a preseason game at Fiserv Forum on October 10, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Justin Robinson #55 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots the ball against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during a preseason game at Fiserv Forum on October 10, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder
Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball against Justin Robinson #55 of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first half during a preseason game at Fiserv Forum on October 10, 2021, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: The user expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, the user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

OKC Thunder fans can still celebrate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort

This season will have a lot of games like Sunday that you just have to forget the scoreboard and move on. It will not look pretty, or smooth, and likely be a far cry from competitive at times. The great news is you still get to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort every single night.

Even against an extremely lengthy defense, with these two being the top priority for the Bucks defensive unit who played with more energy and bounce than you would expect a team would that still smells the champagne in their locker room.

Lu Dort caught fire from beyond the arc, going four of six from beyond the arc on his way to 19 points, a steal, an assist and rebound in this contest all in under 20-minutes of work.

As we wonder if last year’s shooting progressive will be sustainable, so far in the preseason, Dort has looked even better taking deeper, more contested triples, comfortably and confidently. With the team cycling in new young players seemingly every minute, we lose track of how young Lu Dort is, in his third year with the team, he might as well be walking around the Paycom Center with a walker telling the young guys to get off his lawn.

It is important not to box Dort in, he still has a ton of room to grow, and we are not sure what the end result looks like for the Arizona State product, but it is certainly more than just a defensive star.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like a player who had a long layoff between NBA games on Monday, he even admitted to being tired the next day after the contest against the Hornets. However, on Sunday against the Bucks, he was back to his All-Star form.

While hitting euro-steps, step-back three-pointers, and compiling 12 points on 50-percent shooting, six assists, and a rebound, the most impressive part of his game is what he has added.

Taking a look at his social media, you can see SGA has spent this offseason working on his low-post game, if he can refine this skill and couple it with his mid-range pull-ups, silky smooth drives, and easy threes he becomes a top-tier three-level scorer in the NBA.

In this contest, he went into the low-post and hit a spinning jumper over the 2019-20 Defensive player of the year Giannis Antetokounmpo. Watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s quest to be a first-time All-Star, and Lu Dort’s offensive progression will be worth the price of admission.

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