SGA on fatigue following game 6: “I’m good. I’m ready to go. Biggest game of my career, if I lose my season’s over.”
I think the thing that makes me so annoyed at watching SGA play, is that when he actually plays basketball, he’s so fucking smooth. If he didn’t foulbait or falldown after a majority of his shots, he would be so much fun to watch. It’s like watching a great chef prepare a beautiful meal, and then at the very end just dumps half a jar of mayonnaise on it and then expects you to eat it.
His midrange and back to the basket stuff is amazing and so fun to watch, very Kobe like
His drives make me want to quit watching the sport
3 years ago I thought I had found my new favourite player, coming from Kobe, being Canadian. His game has changed so much it’s sad. Clearly it’s working but I hope the league looks at it. We should be marvelling at his skill, not this.
The league needs to fix the incentive structure. I’m not going to hate on the guy for playing winning basketball, but the league for allowing this to work. He’ll be one of the top 3-5 players regardless.
But I also don’t really trust the league to fix it. Silver doesn’t seem to care, and I feel like the NBA has been overcomplicating a lot of its rule changes
Same problem as Embiid. They’re too good to be relying on this shit.
Feels like going to see Elvis just to see him phone it in.
Embiid sees a stray foot and he’ll trip himself intentionally over it.
Dude is nasty to play against
Shai falls more but Embiid is worse because he goes out of his way to fall onto players and plays dirty asf
Probable cause of his injuries as well. Big guy as him crashing to the ground so often is not healthy.
Agreed. But I don’t find SGA necessarily more annoying to watch than other star players who foul bait. But still, I don’t think any player should foul bait.
I think it’s not so much the foulbaiting as it is falling to the ground so often. I saw him go to the ground while missing a layup with no one near him this game.
i’ve been trying so hard not to join the massive hate train on him because i love players that have a smooth middy
really wish he’d stop falling over after shooting them
I blame the Thunder coaching and analytics staff. They crunched all the numbers for every aspect of the game including how fouls are called and level of physicality they can get away with and found the optimal path to victory.
Shai has a beautiful high-post game, yet doesn’t get to use it. Granted, I don’t imagine him complaining cause the current way they are playing got him B2B mvps, a chip, and all-time efficiency ratings on below average minutes played.
The staff also gave us the whole “fouling up 3” meta last year that turns classic games into unwatchable bullshit. Just insufferable spreadsheet ball.
They’re not wrong. Okc I’d an amazing org. Rules gotta change
he wouldnt be scoring 30+ without the foul baiting
He’s a hell of player but lets be real thats like 30% of his game.
I don’t really care about 30+ppg. His midrange shooting form is so smooth that it’s just nice to watch. I can’t really explain it. Same reason why I loved watching Paul George play. His shooting from was just aesthetically pleasing. It’s weird to say and I really can’t explain what I mean lol.
No I get it. I think without the foul baiting he would be alot of people’s favorite player.
He has that effortless type of scoring when he gets going. Kinda like Lou Will and Paul George like you said.
Joe Johnson belongs here. Dude hit 15 foot pull ups off anything in his sleep.
I think he’d be amazing to watch otherwise. I just can’t watch it. I won’t watch it. It might be “performative”. I don’t care. It’s not FUN to watch.
I watch basketball for FUN. I watch basketball to ENJOY it.
This just isn’t fun. That’s all. Nothing crazy. It’s just not fun for the casual fan.
What a radical idea!
Insert that meme of the guy in the boardroom giving an obvious good idea and then getting thrown out the window
PG game is so smoove
I totally agree. When he isn’t foul baiting he’s fun to watch even when he’s beating your team.
Yep, if you factor out the bullshit then he’s still a very good player but not an MVP level player. In terms of similar players, he’s above Derozan but below Kobe and Wade. He doesn’t have the explosive potential that allows him to truly take over games, so he relies on bullshit. If the bullshit doesn’t work then his game stops working and we get games like today.
This is such a good analogy lmao
I agree. It’s like watching KD. You just know he’s gonna make the shot. His clutch run at the end of the regular season was crazy.
This line has got to stop, it’s fine to just say that the guy has played like shit.
I totally agree. It’s annoying AF but the blame lies with the league and the refs.
that’s a delicacy in OKC
I could just rewind time and swap out SGA for Harden and this comment would be just as applicable.
His 1 on 1 with Wemby was smooth even made the alien fall down
Mayo catching strays
Exactly. His body control is elite. He dances like a butterfly and stings like a bee. His game is amazing until he decides to take a big giant dump and shoot free throws
Perfect analogy
His play in FIBA made me a fan. His play in the NBA ruined that.
I think tonight was a totally reasonable degree of selling. Didn’t feel like he was collapsing on every second shot attempt and looked smooth out there.
Unfortunately the game was not close so that behavior will not be validated
I feel like with shai rn it’s all mental. Obviously the spurs defense on him is air tight but I feel like there’s smth else going on
He looks exhausted and for good reason.
The Spurs are making him work for every single inch on the floor. He can’t even receive the ball in peace. They’re hounding him.
He also has the most minutes played of any player in the Conference Finals.
And as the MVP that’s the treatment he should be getting. Have the opposing team give him the respect he deserves and guard his ass like it’s their last day on earth. They fear him, they are showing him that. Make the rest of his very talented team beat them
It’s gonna be tough. He’s gotta try to win regardless of that as best as he can and it’s hard
It’s just smart defensive scheming. Especially without J-Dub and Ajay Mitchell, there’s not a lot of guys who can punish you if you shut down SGA.
It’s the same OKC team from like 2 or 3 years ago where he was the only one who could create and they lost to the mavs i think.
To be fair , they had Josh Giddey at the time and boy was he a huge liability for them.
I like how J-Dub played and it didn’t matter at all today
Because they clearly rushed him back. He just stood there on offense and offered nothing on defense.
It looked like a desperation move to me.
Same shit the nuggets did with AG and he just hobbled around all night.
And hasnt been the same since
Okc should not play j dub for game 7
He barely played, It looked like a “Jdub really wants to play and If he’s going to come back, it’s better now than game 7”.
10 minutes and big ole -18. Yikes
Did you even pay attention to the game?
What about MiSTeR cHaOS????
Exactly. This isn’t something new.
Young LeBron dealt with that and still balled the fuck out.
Jordan did it. Shaq did it. Kobe did it.
Truly great players rise above and adjust. SGA isn’t adjusting at all.
Lebron had 2011,Jordan played in a different era and Kobe had 2004.
Difference here is Bron, MJ, And Kobe weren’t champions yet. Kobe exception he wasn’t the main guy on that chip team.
But SGA already lost to Mavs with similar defense, more 1on1 though, last year they skated by, this year the league caught up to them and exposing SGA for who he truly is. And that is just a great scorer, nothing else, and I think he’s starting to see that too. Unless he adds to his game this offseason, conversations will be had trust and believe that.
They’re all over him. Plus his second deep playoff run in a row plus carrying his injured team all season. He must have zero energy left, probably why he keeps bricking shots he normally makes.
Really makes you appreciate wtf Bron did making 8 Finals in a row.
Genuinely superhuman
That’s actually crazy when you think about it. The man’s a genetic beast though.
I love Bron but i’m still half convinced dude’s on gear. Either that or he was legit built in a lab as an experiment. No other explanation
I think it’s both. He probably was/is, but clearly he’s built differently physically and mentally. After watching the results of the enhanced games, I’m convinced it’s more freakish genetics and work ethic.
Everyone in the NBA is lol
Or he was just that dude
Still him losing all that size right after new roids policy back in 2014 or so was sus as fuck
i think a lot of players are on gear in some capacity.
i think the difference is all time players are also just that guy, ontime of PEDs
He is 10000% on all the gear. Peptides TRT whatever you name it he’s probably on it. He has the genetics too but also money to do it right and hide it well
I’m sorry to break it to you but most professional athletes are on some kind of gear. And that’s ok, it’s just part of the game at the highest level.
Even if he was on gear it would be irrelevant because it’s not like the league would allow only him to do it and if they somehow were the other players would sue them into oblivion given the billions on the line
I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone is using banned stuff for healing.
If you think one is doing gear, EVERYONE IS DOING GEAR.
Just like with foul baiting, push off, moving screens. If you are a competitor, and you know you can get away with it. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?
Basically summary of Thinking Basketball evaluation of Peak Lebron “Possible goat on ball scoring, Goat level playmaking, All time wing defense, inhuman BBiq and Stamina” and my favorite stat “Without Dwade or Kyrie Lebron leads teams from 2013-18 had a 60 win pace”
Maybe most minutes by MPG but they swept both previous series and were resting in between so fatigue is no excuse imo
Falling down and then sprinting across the court to catch up is probably exhausting
It’s like doing a bunch of burpees.
Look at how he glides when he falls, Tua needs to work out with SGA this summer
Takes extra energy to get off the ground 20 times a game. Ask Embiid he flops himself into exhaustion by 4th quarter every single playoff game of his career.
He has the deepest team in the league. They coasted for most of the regular season and the first two rounds. He’s just finally facing a capable defense in the playoffs.
It’s funny though bc he wasn’t great in the Lakers series. Smart played his ass off, but the rest of the Lakers defense is just not good.
Castle and Bryant have that boy gasping for airrrrr
Getting off the floor after every shot adds to that exhaustion
Flopping and throwing yourself on the ground for calls will do that
This is going to be a factor in the finals either way. Both SGA and Vic are gassed because of this long physical series.
Meanwhile the Knicks are watching film, podcasting, and getting ice baths.
Why do people always insist things have to be mental when it’s so obvious the players are exhausted? The simplest answer just can’t be correct?
People always jumping to the mental health when it’s the physical health lmao. His stamina bar is empty.
Yeah I hate the mental takes so much, it’s so stupid.
Yes you’re right he’s clearly exhausted from all the flopping he did within the past 6 games.
He needs Jdub healthy for game 7 to take some of the load off. Spurs need someone else to worry about
I hardly see this mentioned.
He’s their second best player and the offense misses him badly.
Based on tonight I don’t see him contributing much. I think they should think hard about putting him out there at all.
AJ Mitchell’s importance to this team cannot be understated either
maybe not having 17 free throws and being rewarded for flopping and playing unethical hoops is what’s “going on”?
just a wild thought.
Is it mental tho? The Thunder played very poised even though they got blown out in the 3rd quarter. They went 11-3 after that sequence with Devin Vassell hyping up the arena.
his game is predicated on hunting for fouls instead of actually trying to make a bucket. no surprises here
Do you think he’s tired from collapsing onto the floor?
He’s missing wide open layups, I bet it’s something with his hands. They’ve both been taped up for a while now.
I feel like its him not getting soft calls tonight. How about that
The flopping talk is obviously getting to him. He knows he’s now considered a fraud by all non-OKC fans and it’s eating him up.
It’s not all mental they’re trapping him every time he touches the ball. Basically a box and 1 not a mental problem
He forgot to eat his usual Fruity Pebbles.
Prob hearing all the noise about the flopping. It’s a constant news cycle
It’s obviously physical if you’ve watched the games lmao, dude is jumping and trying to fall on so many of his shots
Whole world calling him a flopper and his legacy is tarnished yeah that would fuck with my mental too
It is. He probably can’t get it out his head why the refs aren’t giving him the calls they always do. He’s a fraud without the refs propping him up.
Cease and desist maybe?
If by mental you mean Wemby roaming the paint then for sure
Getting back to back championship is very taxing
SGA is a perfectionist to a fault. You can tell he beats himself up over even the smallest things and it really affects his ability to play. Not only that, but the morale of teammates and his communication on court.
He’s been one of the weakest links in the Thunder’s game in the playoffs because of his mental game.
It’s like Rocky 3. He’s been protected and coddled for so long that he now has to search for the eye of the tiger.
I really think the flopping shit is getting to him. I don’t think we’ve seen a superstar like this besides Kevin Durant where they are so hyper aware of what the internet thinks of them. Even Kevin Durant is more of a troll in that way, SGA tries to impress the internet very regularly. He goes for the clippable comments and stuff
Maybe when he isn’t getting to the foul line, he isn’t a positive contributor to OKC?
Good mindset imo. Shai not worried about what he was doing last year or the year before that. This game coming up is the biggest one.
If not for the flopping I’d really like this guy
He’s very likeable if you delete the falling down.
I stand by that lol
I guarantee you 4-7 games of playing against him on the biggest stage in modern franchise history may impact your feelings
I adored Wemby coming into this season, throughout the season, and up to the WCF. He has everything to be a generational talent at the age of 22.
Now, after he has beat our asses for 3 games, seeing his shaolin monk head enrages me (and scares me).
Do you like Luka, who pretty much complains every possession? Honest question. Since Shai rarely complains on calls.
For real. He’s been locked in all playoffs, nice to see him not overthinking it or getting in his own head. Just gotta go take it.
Mindset doesn’t seem to right to me when he’s saying, “If *I* lose.” The key word is I, should be we. It’s a team, yeah?
You can still believe youre gonna win but still acknowledge the reality that anything can happen.
Dude was walking off the court smiling in game 6 last year before coming back to dominate
He’s never going to admit to it, but there have definitely been moments he looks every bit a guy working on something like his 180th game in less than two years.
Those playoff miles add up fast. 23 postseason games last year at 37 per, and now what 14 at 36 per this year? That’s an extra half-season’s worth of the physical grind of NBA basketball. The extra-rough variant of it too since there’s not really such a thing as taking games off this time of year.
He’s just got to find whatever’s left in the tank. Not much choice.
What?! I thought one day off fully heals you?
Part of the reason it’s so hard to go b2b or 3-peat. Even Jordan cited fatigue after the Bulls finished that first 3-peat run.
Teams are also running around a lot more in a game now than the 90s. That plus early specialization into one sport adds up a lot.
OKC swept the Lakers and Suns. He had like a week off between each series, sat out 3 weeks of the regular season, and routinely didn’t play 4th quarters all year.
I get the point but it’s not at all similar to the burden other stars carry when they actually have to carry a team consecutive seasons.
what are you on about?
shai averaged historically low minutes in the regular season for any mvp. wemby had less because he was on a minutes restriction for a big chunk of the season. shai, however, simply has the benefit of sitting on the bench because of how stacked his team is. adding last year’s run to this year’s “fatigue” is ridiculous. as for this year, the thunder swept two teams. meaning he played less minutes than most of the spurs starters.
if there’s any fatigue, it’s from all the falling.
People keep saying its from falling and that doesn’t help, but part of why everyone is so tired is because these guys are all grabing and yanking and leaning on and pushing each other for 36+ minutes every other night. SGA is getting mauled just like everyone else. Which is fun to watch but probably draining as hell to play
right
Now imagine Lebron making the finals every year for damn near a decade lol
Having the shortest offseason and the longest postseason 8 seasons in a row. He ran some of his own teammates into the ground lol. But he has no “mamba mentality” according to some people
I mean mamba mentality is pretty unhealthy for life, but Kobe did seem like more of a basketball psychopath. But you are right that the dude couldn’t drive 50 times a game (even though it’s unstoppable) because that shit gets exhausting. I assume it’s tougher at 260 too. Shai is built for endurance.
He’s collapsing every after shot to protect his body according to thunder flairs
Plus the Olympics for team Canada in 2024. His last full offseason was so many years ago
Hasn’t had one in 3 years now
he’s going to have sleep paralysis tonight, dillon brooks demon standing right over him with his shiny grills and jewelry
I need Dillon Brookes to show up Courtside for Game 7 to keep the meme going.
He has to do the staredown when they’re on his side of the court
I want him to buy a seat on both sides 🤣
So he’s always in frame.
I would love to see Dylan Brooks in the front row seat, hating at game 7, lol
lmaooo that mental image is killing me. Brooks in full jewelry just standing there like a final boss while SGA’s trying to sleep.
He got some good rest in the fourth quarter.
So did the Spurs
Yeah the whole bench was activated by that point. Gonna need that energy for Game 7.
Game 7 of the NBA finals wasn’t the biggest game of his life?
Irrelevant. The past is prologue for Mr. G.A.
I think he was trying to say “the next game” will always be the biggest game of his life
So many game 7’s this year
Almost all of them were ass. Hoping for the best for this one.
Yeah, so many blowouts this year, game 7 and otherwise - and not just because one team is way better (Knicks excluded), but where both teams blow the other out
Hes not good, you can tell hes gassed for multiple games now, and mentally hes not there.
Second deep playoff run in a row, plus carrying the injure riddled team all season, now dealing with this cut throat D of the Spurs, man must be ready to die.
He was off in the lakers series too
even without JDub they are the deepest team in the league. Some of their 3rd stringers would play legit playoffs mins for other teams.
Still need your stars to win a championship.
Yea but the notion that he carried his team to throughout the season is way overblown.
Youre not going to win the chip without stars but you can have a well oiled machine that does most of the lifting during the regular season.
They didn’t though? SGA did all of the heavy lifting.
not really
That wrist injury he got game 2 against Phoenix is probably still lingering. Got tape around it too
Definitely a factor.
I was thinking about that. Going from a Finals Game 7 into a season where you’re missing your #2 Option all year, into another deep playoff run must be fucking exhausting.
Not making excuses, just saying it must be fucking miserable lmao 🤣
He’s probably fine mentally. The Thunder are pretty poised rn I’d say
He’s the best player in the world, time for him to show it
he never has been and never will be
lol he isn’t
Bro ready to flop like his season depends on it
He’s gonna be in the gym all day tomorrow practicing his head snaps and fall downs and leg kicks and grimace faces. That’s the dedication you can expect from an MVP of his calibre.
I honestly think he is a top tier basketball player with such a great talent. I mean look at his dribbling and midrange game. He just needs to remember what got him into this game and just play the basketball that he loves
Must be extra fatigued from falling on every jumpshot, that shit is tiring
Phone a friend: Tony Brothers
Not as big as game 7 of the finals? Lol
I think we’ll find out in the off season he has some hand or arm injury like J-Dub last year. Doesn’t look like himself and it’s not just the defense.
All that extra energy on flopping and picking himself off the floor every play will do that
Agreed. All those bumps to the floor are gaining interest. He might not feel them now but the time will come to for his body to pay it back. It’s not called the Hardwood for nothing.
Shai Fallsus-Onthegrounder.
[deleted]
Fuck Doug ford mane
If he shows up on Sunday it’s going to be a pretty empty arena.
Yeah not worrued about him. He will show up game 7
I i i i
So expect a ton of flopping and bad calls from refs.
Biggest game of his career was game 7 last year lmao
No J-Dub and Mitchell is catching up, there’s nobody on the perimeter to take pressure off him.
“I must be better, fall harder”
Last game of the year, can’t hold anything back
Great response, I’m honestly scared of game 7
Generational levels of flopping inbound.
Got a feeling refs gonna go crazy game 7
Yep, by my calculations, your season is over if you lose.
It’s not easy falling on every possession
in the last 9 quarters of basketball he’s taken 2 of them off
SGA, “I’m good. I’m ready to go. I have the refs help with me.”
flopping MVP
Sorry he meant to say ready to flop.
Of course he’s ready to go, they sit him in the fourth whether they are winning or losing
flop god
Someone should tell shai he played a g7 in the finals
Feels like regardless of win or lose. Your career is over when your nickname is called The Fish.
I’m almost certain sga is dealing with an undisclosed injury to his hand. I recall him injuring him hands this postseason. Would not be shocked if he’s playing with torn ligaments.