Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t looked like himself lately. Sure, he’s getting to the rim and has been hitting some tough shots, but a lot of his misses have been just that: misses. Misses on the shot itself and misses on the idea of even taking the shot.
After four straight games with less than 20 points and shooting 27.4% from the field, the Oklahoma City Thunder star guard was out against the Atlanta Hawks with a right ankle sprain. It was his first missed game of the season after starting 16 in a row, including five in the seven days from Nov. 14-20. By not playing on Monday, he gets three days in a row without games before the Thunder play the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Last season, the Thunder fell apart immediately when Gilgeous-Alexander took the bench for the second half of the season. On Monday, they maintained composure and competed well against the Hawks in the first half, trailing by six at halftime before falling apart in the third quarter and not having enough juice in the fourth. OKC suffered a 113-101 defeat to end its road trip 0-3.
It was a loss, but it wasn’t a loss like those in the second half of last season. There were some promising signs, starting with rookie Josh Giddey.
“Although we didn’t win, I think I can speak for other guys as well, the direction we’re headed is positive,” the 19-year-old said.
Let’s take a look at some positives, some negatives, and some overall reactions to the game: