The Hometown Kid Balls Out Against his Hometown Team
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his yearly NBA return to Canada, scoring 30 points to help OKC win 129-92 over the Raptors
You ever think about how the best basketball player in the world is from Hamilton, Ontario?
Well, I do. A lot. His name is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and tonight he was in Toronto, Ontario, playing the Raptors.
Kinda sad day to be a Raptors fan when SGA is your favourite NBA and International player. You want him to play his best but also if he does that he cooks the Raptors. He indeed, cooked the Raptors.
He had 13 first quarter points alone, and each one could have been hung in the louvre. By the halfway point in the second quarter, the Thunder were up over 30 points on the Raptors.
The score at halftime was 67-42 for the Thunder... not cute.
The Raptors could not even get their free pizza by scoring 100 points, which is usually a given with this squad.
Overall, OKC is just a better team, and that’s okay. They’ve put in the work to rebuild over the past 5+ years and it’s finally paying off.
OKC won the game 129-92, ending the Raptors’ short-lived winning streak but not breaking the strong morale the team has built together. They will be back Saturday to play the Dallas Mavericks, surely forgetting the sting of this loss before tip-off.
Here are somethings that factored into the performance:
OKC’s record-breaking defence
As the best team in the Western Conference, the Thunder have been suffocating their opponents on the defensive end. Their 16-5 record could be explained briefly by how well they are able to stop teams from scoring.
They have a league-high defensive rating of 103.9, which means they only allow other teams to score 103.9 points per every 100 possessions.
That was on display tonight against the Raptors, as OKC locked them downnnn all game long. Toronto usually scores 113.2 points per game as a team, and they were held to under 100 tonight. They also allow 116.5 points per game from their opponents this season, but OKC was able to score 129 points on them tonight.
Overall just a mismatch in skill set and experience together as a team. Which is where OKC was a few years ago. *Alexa play Night Changes by One Direction*
Jakob Poeltl illness
It was announced earlier in the day that Jakob Poeltl was questionable for the game with an illness. Later when Darko held his pregame availability, he confirmed Poeltl was sitting out of the game. That left a sizable (literally) vacancy in Toronto’s frontcourt.
They started Bruno Fernando in his place, but his 0 points on 0-0 shooting in the first half was enough for Darko to switch Jonathan Mogbo to start the second.
It still was not really enough, and the team missed their big man. Isaiah Hartenstein only scored 2 points, but he was able to grab 16 rebounds and assisted 6 times for OKC.
Hopefully Jakob’s illness isn’t too bad, and he will be back Saturday.
SGA being a work of art
He’s the best player in the world right now for a reason. He’s just a master with the basketball. The way he creates his own shot in isolation is mesmerizing...SGA ended the game with 30 points on 11-22 shooting from the field, and 9 of those misses were from distance. He was cooking in the midrange and in drives. He also had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
He led the team with over 29 minutes as well, which in a game that had a near 40-point differential, is a little shocking. He could have played way less and still got the win for his team. He leads them so effortlessly it just looks easy.
For fans, it’s a fun night in Toronto when we get to watch SGA work live. It’s even better when he’s in a Team Canada jersey. He reflected on his journey at the Olympics this summer, saying he is excited to try again at the next Olympics if he is able to.