Parallel-Quality

243 | 11 hours ago

Doubling him lowers his PPG, makes him take more inefficient shots (lowering his FG%) but increases his playmaking significantly.

Averaging 11+ assists per game in this series and is #3 in assists per game in the playoffs.

Also #1 in secondary assists and #3 in potential assists.

He’s looking like Steve Nash out there.

Greedy-Lynx-2746 | Thunder

100 | 10 hours ago

This is the first stretch in his career where he’s had reliable shooting around him and his assist numbers have skyrocketed. He saw similar coverages last postseason and got to 10 assists a couple times when guys hit their shots but for the most part he was forced to do everything

JMac trade and JWill/Cason’s shooting has been a boon for him, and Caruso in the playoffs is nuts.

He doesn’t throw the flashy passes that Luka or Jokic do, but he gets you a good look every trip down the floor and doesn’t turn the ball over.

AO_from_DP | Thunder

33 | 8 hours ago

JWill was always like this, but Caso shooting is really big surprise. There was a stretches in regular season when I’d rather have Dort shooting threes over Wallace, but he really stepped up this playoffs

goodguybrian | Thunder

12 | 5 hours ago

rookie year Caso made me think he was an ELITE shooter.

Euphoric_Travel6762 | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

I don’t know how tf both him and Dub were so incredibly efficient as rookies. If they had retained that efficiency with their improved volume and defense we would be unbeatable

dahras | Thunder

9 | 4 hours ago

I think the big JWill change is that he’s gotten better in the paint on defense, so he’s playable in more situations. But yeah, his shooting has been great for a while.

CarterAC3 | Spurs

9 | 7 hours ago

JMac

He truly does have the Spurs in a full nelson

silliputti0907 | NBA

21 | 6 hours ago

Im not even trying to hate. He’s looking nothing like Nash. He’s space creating and midrange is automatic, but as a passer, its more of his teammates being knockdown shooters

mattw08

17 | 5 hours ago

Yeah anyone saying he looks like Nash hasn’t watch them play.

Ballknwr | Thunder

10 | 5 hours ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ppirjr/gq_shai_gilgeousalexander_im_the_black_steve_nash/

DJ-McLillard | Trail Blazers

2 | 4 hours ago

Lmfao he doesn’t look like Steve Nash, he’s just passing the ball as soon as the double is sent and his team is hitting shots at an unprecedented rate. Thunder bench has looked better with him off the court in 50% of the games

cbunny21 | Thunder

1 | 2 hours ago

Is it really unprecedented when they are NBA players taking wide open jumpers?

TheFatmanRises | Heat

1 | 3 hours ago

It’s the Canadian dna being activated to similar like Nash

swizznastic |

1 | 3 hours ago

He rlly isnt though. But still great for a score first guard. This is the offensive gap between someone like him and ant edwards

bleev | Thunder

1 | 2 hours ago

Where do you find these stats for secondary/potential

majidLuv | Thunder

73 | 11 hours ago

Wasn’t familiar with the bubble lakers like that

Greedy-Lynx-2746 | Thunder

75 | 11 hours ago

That team was absolutely stacked. Rondo/Bron(pre-ankle injury) at the controls, AD/Dwight/Javale as bigs, AD hitting his jumpers was a top 3 player, and Green/Caruso/Kuzma(pre-ass) as role players

fisheggsoup | Jazz

15 | 8 hours ago

And that’s not including Avery Bradley, who decided to stay home.

twrs_29 | Thunder

37 | 11 hours ago

Don’t listen to people who give that title an asterisk. Seriously underrated Lebron team

Familiar-Mix3546 | Thunder

3 | 10 hours ago

Facts

IntelligentAd5460 | Grizzlies

33 | 10 hours ago

you could argue for that 1 run ad was the best player on the planet

Parallel-Quality

33 | 10 hours ago

If the NBA had a “Playoffs MVP” like the NHL does instead of just a “Finals MVP,” AD would have won it.

He was the best player in the playoffs that year.

Southern_Clerk8697

3 | 10 hours ago

Yeah healthy AD is just different man. The challenge is keeping him healthy enough by the time it’s the playoffs

D1HATER3002 | Thunder

7 | 6 hours ago

That AD run was so flukey, bro never was close to replicating that level of offense after that bubble szn.

Kdot32 | Rockets

15 | 5 hours ago

Because he was truly rested and healthy. That was a key factor in their run. They were an older, injury prone team that got months to rest up

Shopler

18 | 10 hours ago

Bubble Lakers was crazy good. I always laugh when people pull the “Mickey Mouse Ring” shtick. Not quite 2024 Celtics, but definitely one of the stronger recent champion teams.

Danny_III | Gran Destino

10 | 9 hours ago

They probably beat the 24 Celtics in series mostly because they have Lebron

TheGamesGone_ | Celtics

-5 | 3 hours ago

Nah. We’re the only title team this decade they would not have beaten.

ThinkShoe2911

-27 | 10 hours ago

Mickey mouse ring. Not even close to one of the best recent champs.

inshamblesx | Rockets

15 | 9 hours ago

they’re better than the ‘21 bucks, ‘22 warriors, ‘23 nuggets and ‘19 raptors lol

Danny_III | Gran Destino

-5 | 9 hours ago

I’d say 24 Celtics and 25 Thunder too

Spemanz92 | Thunder

7 | 9 hours ago

Those two are HIGHLY debatable. I think the celtics would beat those lakers, OKC might lose due to AD size, but i think it would be a close series and imo OKC was the better team

ThinkShoe2911

-11 | 9 hours ago

I’ll give you the ‘22 Warriors that’s it lol

NuclearGhandi1 | Knicks

3 | 3 hours ago

Even playing field, how is it a Mickey Mouse ring? No home court, no travel, same accommodations. In fact you could argue it’s one of the more legit rings

BurkeanMarxist | Thunder

3 | 5 hours ago

That run was incredible

brnccnt7

60 | 9 hours ago

I thought JJ Redick gave us the blueprint /s

HitboxOfASnail | Supersonics

61 | 6 hours ago

JJ Reddick gave the league the blueprint for “containing” SGA while losing by 15+

JMoon33 | Cabo Verde

8 | 3 hours ago

Sure you’re losing every game, but SGA scored less points, that’s what matters!

Longjumping_Split_53 | Thunder

14 | 7 hours ago

He did, it just didn’t work for the lakers either lol.

cplbernard | Thunder

9 | 7 hours ago

He did what he could with what he had.

fasteddie131

5 | 7 hours ago

They thought so too.

Pickleskennedy1

-9 | 7 hours ago

It does sometimes feel like people are absolutely desperate to label him as a basketball savant at all times. They lost games in that series by an average of 16 points and got swept. Not sure what it is about him

brianscalabrainey

23 | 7 hours ago

There’s no amount of coaching that could have saved the lakers from getting destroyed that series

AnAimlessWanderer101

12 | 5 hours ago

Seriously. The lakers played respectably, and never rolled over or even had a truly ‘bad’ game. They were simply outclassed all around as a team

ertyertamos | Thunder

3 | 4 hours ago

To be fair, he is working with a terrible roster - especially with Doncic out. I didn’t think he had any chance against the rockets, even without Durant. So there’s that.

Pickleskennedy1

0 | 4 hours ago

I’m not saying he underperformed, but he didn’t over perform in the Thunder series either. They got crushed

hydropenguin69 | Thunder

53 | 11 hours ago

I recall after game one this sub saying he was the worst superstar of this century.

AuroraPo | Lakers

-65 | 10 hours ago

Worst? Not even close. But overrated for sure.

ThinkShoe2911

47 | 10 hours ago

How can you be overrated as a back to back MVP, FMVP and champion?

If Jordan won 5 titles in this era everybody on r/nba would probably hate on him

[deleted]

-55 | 9 hours ago

[removed]

Robinsonirish | Finland

31 | 9 hours ago

Why would employees of a gambling infested shell of a league want to crown a guy that plays for the 2nd smallest market in the NBA as the MVP? It would be the opposite, Oklahoma would never win the MVP, it’s not good for business. Being fun to watch has little relevance to winning, or being the best. If the most fun player was crowned the MVP Vince Carter would have multiple.

Spemanz92 | Thunder

20 | 8 hours ago

Fans for the most part dont actually know how to evaluate impact and aesthetics or preferences clouds judgements. Fans are the worst group of people as voters, as seen in the yearly all star voting

ThinkShoe2911

8 | 9 hours ago

I disagree it’s pretty fun

VegetableTour6790 | Thunder

3 | 4 hours ago

The “logic” you guys use is so funny to me.

jeek22

27 | 10 hours ago

He really improved from last year playoffs, and it shows. If he tries to work this summer on doubles and triple that teams throw at him, it would be even further more difficult to stop him again next year. As well as working on his 3pt shoot also.

lmaoooyikes | Thunder

23 | 10 hours ago

Im interested in what his hockey assist numbers look like

There have been so many possessions where Shai was doubled, passed it to a teammate in the middle, and they pass it again for a wide open 3/backdoor cut

Few_Machine

19 | 9 hours ago

Just curious… are there any series by series stats? Because my eye test says Lakers were much better than Spurs at double-teaming him(execution wise), but red-hot Mitchell did too much damage for them.

Spemanz92 | Thunder

23 | 8 hours ago

Lakers werent better, they were just way more aggressive with it. Spurs dont commit the second guy as hard and have guys like vassel and castle work on him a bit more 1v1 to slow him down before he starts driving

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

10 | 8 hours ago

Spurs are running basically an inverted triangle and 2 with Wemby at the base. They have a poa defender on him and two guys on the wings to come up when he moves to the free throw line extended.

The spurs version is more sophisticated that the lakers version. When y’all doubled it was much more traditional.

mido0o0o | Thunder

0 | 7 hours ago

Lakers was a much easier opponent than the Spurs so Shai wasn’t as aggressive and he let the others cook. When game 4 got too close to comfort he stepped got his usual numbers.

qqbeef

11 | 10 hours ago

What I learned is that bubble AD was a monster.

crustydemonburgers | Thunder

9 | 10 hours ago

I’m really curious to see next season what Shai’s scoring numbers look like because I expect a huge playmaking bump.

Spemanz92 | Thunder

6 | 8 hours ago

Will be similar. Teams wont be doing this double thing nearly as much and shouldnt. Its been a terrible strategy in the playoffs and was even worse in the reg season. This is more of a playoff gimmick than anything

crustydemonburgers | Thunder

2 | 8 hours ago

Well my prediction was based on the playoffs. I figured that it’s really hard to sustain 5 straight 30 point seasons, his natural improvement as a playmaker, better spacing and Dub, Chet and the team getting better.

Spemanz92 | Thunder

3 | 8 hours ago

He sleepwalks to 30 in the regular. I wouldnt be surprised if he slips into the ²⁸⁄₂₉ range soon, but he will never drop too much. Regular season for him is just practice drills 80% of the games

Spemanz92 | Thunder

6 | 9 hours ago

During the regular season around march, he was leading the league with an absurd 1.34. The doubling SGA strategy is a losing recipe in a series, unless you get extremely lucky with shooting variance from the supporting cast.

Might work for a game or two, but across a series the team is too good not to eventually punish you

HokageEzio | Knicks

3 | 10 hours ago

2024 Brunson ❤️

ren_zii | Thunder

2 | 8 hours ago

WHERE IS KEVIN DURANT

BurkeanMarxist | Thunder

4 | 5 hours ago

How many falls per direct touch though! Somebody grab some stats I can hate on

Adventurous_Hall_368

2 | 6 hours ago

These playoffs are going to unlock Shai as an elite playmaker and passer, I hope.

JMoon33 | Cabo Verde

1 | 3 hours ago

Thunder and Spurs are going to be even better next year. The rest of the West is in a tough spot. It’s probably the best time to rebuild and hope to peak when the Spurs and Thunder are slowing down.

ThinReply2047 | Thunder

2 | 6 hours ago

Sending Two Won’t Save You is going in his insta caption after this series

lilboytuner919 | Lakers

2 | 6 hours ago

This is an OKC stat

manbeqrpig | Nuggets

2 | 6 hours ago

The crazy thing is it’s felt like he hasn’t even been that good but that’s what making the right decision out of a double every time will do

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

2 | 3 hours ago

2020 AD and Bron were top 3 on the planet with both having arguments for number 1. Literally best 1-2 punch since Kobe and Shaq but because it was in a bubble it doesn’t get talked about. The rest of the roster fit perfectly around them. If they don’t run into Jokic and Murray going insane they win another in 2023.

Also SGA has been great these playoffs. Outside both game 1s he’s been best player in the floor in every game he’s played these playoffs.

jeffbizloc

1 | 7 hours ago

Just pass to Caruso I guess

Gichin13

1 | 5 hours ago

When they estimate this, is it only the direct action scoring or does it include the hockey assists too?

AnkitPancakes | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

Shai taking a slight dip in his points this series only to average 11+ assists is proof in point to

Shai’s talent and ability being more than is advertised
Shai’s bbiq to truly take what defense’s give him with no ego

The ultimate winner’s mentality

imanueldavid

1 | 3 hours ago

God I miss my bubble lake show. AD x King dominating on the court, and then biking around an empty Disneyworld afterwards 🤣

myusrnameisthis

0 | 7 hours ago

Send more!

AnkitPancakes | Thunder

0 | 4 hours ago

Elite playmaker

thecrunchcrew | SAS

-1 | 6 hours ago

Not to be that guy and not necessarily saying that the data is incorrect, but Imgur isn’t the source of the data

LiamHundley | Thunder

2 | 2 hours ago

I credited all NBA in the title and it’s all over the graphic. Sub doesn’t allow image posts so you have to upload to a third party. Only place i saw all NBA post it is on Twitter and Twitter links are banned. If there’s a more proper way to do this while still adhering to the subs rules please let me know

pluie18 | Lakers

-2 | 9 hours ago

Luka in the Thunder would be nuts

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

13 | 8 hours ago

It’d be great, but he wouldn’t be as good as Shai.

Longjumping_Split_53 | Thunder

0 | 7 hours ago

It would be great for people that hate the Thunder for sure because there is no way Luka could possibly go back to back.

Personally I have never thought he is capable of winning one ring.

He will go down with Harden, Westbrook, CP3 and amazing players that aren’t capable of winning a ring.

ClickElectronic | Mavericks

2 | 5 hours ago

It’s crazy how much people build up “winner” narratives when it’s mainly just luck and context unless you’re at the GOAT level.

Like do you honestly believe that Harden/Westbrook/CP3/Luka/etc would have zero rings if they just once had a path as easy as the 2023 Nuggets? Or if they had a team as good as the Thunder to where they’re winning with a -19 on/off in the playoffs like SGA currently has?

AlphonseGangitano | Trail Blazers

-8 | 8 hours ago

How many touches per flops/fall downs?

Tight_Trouble2037

-9 | 11 hours ago

It really shows how great of a supporting cast he has

Fit_Actuary_1288 | Celtics

20 | 11 hours ago

Let’s take a look at all the other players on that list…

Oh, I forgot. You can’t read. My bad.

Tight_Trouble2037

0 | 40 minutes ago

Isn’t SGA the guy with negative net on/off rating in the playoffs. Dude is great but he also has a great supporting cast.

(ALL NBA) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is creating 1.22 points per direct touch when doubled this postseason, tied for second most in the tracking era. (min 175 doubles faced)