OKC Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had a rough go of it this week.
From registering back-to-back subpar games against the Los Angeles Lakers to receiving overwhelming scrutiny regarding foul-baiting accusations, it's safe to say things haven't been going according to plan in the individual performance department.
During a time when the NBA world seems to have soured on the reigning MVP, Shai has shockingly received a vote of support from a rather unlikely source.
Tyrese Haliburton, who took the Thunder all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals just a season ago, came to SGA's defense on a recent episode of the Pat McAfee show, exclaiming how the accusations of his foul-baiting are "overblown."
"Selling is a part of the game... A lot of times... You see, when the [defender] fouls him, he's like 'damn.' He knows he fouled him. He's not even arguing with the ref,"Â Haliburton went on to explain.
Haliburton's comments are in stark contrast to many of the narratives that have reared their ugly heads so far in the Western Conference Semifinals.
From Colin Cowherd accusing Shai of making foul-baiting a central part of his game to the entire Lakers roster electing to confront the refs immediately after their Game 2 defeat, the world seems to be entranced with the idea of unfair whistles on behalf of the Thunder.
Funny enough, the uproar has come at a time when the Thunder's so-called "free-throw merchant" has recorded just 12 attempts at the line over the past two contests.
Gilgeous-Alexander has arguably already been beaten up even more than in the past series against the Suns, yet without the foul calls to highlight it.
He has drawn multiple defenders his way when he crosses half-court and has been thrown to the floor on multiple drives that have ended in no-calls.
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The recent uptick in accusations is hardly the first time Gilgeous-Alexander has dealt with such scrutiny.
Throughout the regular season, the point guard made significantly more friends than enemies. Opposing coaches and players alike were seen complaining about his whistle at the podium after tough losses in the Paycom Center.
Now, it appears that the lambasting has taken on a life of its own.
Through two games, the Lakers have been playing against the officials nearly as much as they have been playing against OKC.
L.A. defenders have been seen throwing their hands up after nearly every foul call. As a result, their obsession with the whistles has led to the resurfacing of the discussion.
To say that Haliburton's alibi was unexpected is an understatement, but it comes at a time when the world has been ignoring the obvious: officiating controversies are not inherently an SGA problem.
Shai averaged more free throws during the Thunder's Finals run over Haliburton's Pacers than he did over either of the past two regular seasons.
It could have been all too easy for Indiana's star player to jump on the anti-Shai bandwagon, but he chose to set personal bias aside and focus on the facts.
Shai's whistle is something to monitor for the rest of the postseason. His lack of free throws in recent matches has to make fans wonder whether outside noise has affected the officiating.
Nevertheless, OKC has already been able to secure a pair of double-digit victories and now heads to Los Angeles up 2-0 in the series.
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