Like Oklahoma City Thunder fans, ESPN’s Zach Lowe must have looked at the most recent round of all-star voting with a sigh of disapproval.
Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fell out of the top 10 guards of the Western Conference in the latest release of voting results Thursday.
This came less than a week after Gilgeous-Alexander made Lowe’s 10 Things column in which he writes about 10 things he likes (or doesn’t like). One of the “like” sections was the Thunder guard, a portion Lowe closed by writing:
“Gilgeous-Alexander belongs in the All-Star conversation.”
Lowe appreciates the way Gilgeous-Alexander has been able to seamlessly change his role on his team, going from a guard who played as much off-ball as he did on to a star on-ball.
“Gilgeous-Alexander might have the NBA’s hardest job, transitioning from hybrid guard on a playoff team to lead orchestrator amid a rebuild. The two veterans in Oklahoma City’s starting five — George Hill and Al Horford — have missed 13 games combined.” (Note: Since Lowe’s article was published, that has increased to 19 games).
Lowe added that neither Hill nor Horford are high-volume creators — “With or without them, the burden on Gilgeous-Alexander is gigantic.”
Yet the third-year guard has thrived in his first season as The Guy.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 22.6 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50.6% from the floor and 38.2% from 3, both of which are career highs even with the increase in usage and shot attempts.
He makes the rebuilding team about average when he’s on the court.
Oklahoma City’s offense approaches league-average production with Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor, and craters without him: 95 points per 100 possessions, nine below the league’s clankiest team (as of Feb. 5). That says something about Gilgeous-Alexander’s untested backups and the Thunder’s overall roster — but also about how Gilgeous-Alexander has managed to lift that crew to respectability. (That said, keep an eye on Theo Maledon. He’s got something.)
That’s also a nice little compliment for Maledon, the Thunder rookie guard.
The Thunder need Gilgeous-Alexander back soon. In the last two games he has missed with a left knee sprain, Oklahoma City has lost by one point to the Los Angeles Lakers and by two to the Denver Nuggets. It was clear they needed a creator at the end of the game. While the offense has shown it can score even without a real point guard, there isn’t a player who can just call for an iso and go to work.
Gilgeous-Alexander has already proven he can do that. Lowe would not disagree.
[lawrence-related id=441938,441931,441926]