…81?

Thinking through how he was guarded in the playoffs, I think it’s more about Shai wanting to practice moving off ball to free himself for the catch closer than 35 feet from the basket. So many okc possessions would go pass-pass-pass only for the ball to finally land back in Shai’s hands well beyond the arc with a defender draped all over him.

I think I agree, it probably pissed him off that despite playing against double teams so often, when guarded by 2 or 3 elite guys at the same time (eg carter bryant, harper and wemby) there is only so much you can do

Exactly, fewer dribbles between receiving the ball and taking a shot.

he’s not trying to be like curry running around the court coming off screens looking for catch and shoot opportunities.

100% agree. He is trying to be like Curry when he uses his counter moves to get to the basket though, which is awesome. Imagine SGA except he’s already starting with the defender a half step behind him

1. To some degree yeah - but if you are basing it off the WCF then we literally had zero since Ajay and Jdub were injured. Those are the next 2 ballhandlers who are elite offensive creators.
   
2. Not sure how the two don’t go hand in hand given he plays a lot of minutes with Jdub and Ajay.
   
3. As long as Ajay and Jdub play, we have many guys who are automatic paint touches. Shai ofc is the best, but having diversity in your offense is a good thing

Playing off ball doesn’t mean just catch and shoot 3s. It’s 10x more exhausting having to bring the ball up while getting hounded full court or even just receiving it above the break and having to create from nothing vs setting yourself up to receive it in more dynamic advantageous positions in your preferred spots using cuts and screens. He’s still gonna do SGA things once he gets the ball.

Shais an elite catch and shoot player and this was what they were doing in the Indiana series last year, Dub and Ajay are good enough at bringing the ball up. Shais still going to get the ball, its just about where he gets it on the floor and attacking before the double comes, since he cant be doubled off ball

The offense still runs through him, just at different spots on the floor that make him harder to double and conserve energy

Oops, i was thinking of the thunder themselves when i saw the headline, forgot he was on the canada team

imo, him wanting to play more off ball was because he had Andrew on his team again, his fav passer 😁 https://youtube.com/shorts/NfSrRE1fmCk?si=WumdDGovhqjao0Qq .

The big flagrant is more of a terrorist than a monster

Playoff tested and angry wemby oof

I’m not even sure if I’d go there. Shai’s offensive load or high-volume isolation sets with or without JDub and AJay is practically the same. OKC’s heliocentric offense is more of a team identity rather than a byproduct of those player’s absence.

Either way, that might be the wake up call they needed to unlock Shai even more.

The Spurs can also run a super aggressive defense against him because of their roaming rim protector. Castle and whoever else gets to go 100% on defense at the perimeter without being concerned about a blow-by because of Wemby. Then also, SGA’s preferred mid-range spots aren’t as safe with Wemby just one of two steps away even if he beats his man. For most defensive schemes, SGA’s spots are in no-man’s-land

Yeah the sidestep three phase was rough to watch lol. But thats what separates the great ones — they try stuff, it looks ugly, then a year later its part of the bag. Be curious to see how OKC uses him off-ball this season with the added spacing from iHart.

I’m stupid I remember him coaching Germany I assumed he was German my mistake

how to use the downvote button and grammar like an adult