Chet Holmgren reveals why it is easy to play for the Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are blessed with all kinds of star players. However, no one comes close to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team's superstar, cornerstone, and leader. Against the Phoenix Suns, he has been excellent, but he was transcendent in Game 3 of the first-round series.
Gilgeous-Alexander was superb with his stat line of 42 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. It was one of the most efficient games in recent NBA history, as he shot 15-for-18 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line, utterly dominating the Suns' defense.
As one of the SGA's biggest co-stars, Chet Holmgren is vastly familiar with playing with a superstar now. He has been an impactful co-star to Shai for the past few seasons, so he sees the greatness up close in practice and during high-stakes games.
Against the Suns, the Thunder are heavy favorites, so most of the players have a good series ahead. However, Gilgeous-Alexander is good enough to keep dominating his matchups, and he is getting his way almost every time he has the ball.
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The Suns have no answer to an in-form Gilgeous-Alexander. He is not only dominating with his scoring, but he is also setting his team up for success. Most people forget that he is not just a top-tier scorer, but he is an offensive engine with his playmaking. That is why he tends to get praised by his teammates like Holmgren.
"There's always a mindset to read how we're being guarded as a team, and that includes how he's being guarded individually... I don't think we saw anything different tonight than we normally do, except he was 15 for 18. But it seemed like a pretty normal night, I guess," Holmgren said about SGA's unique impact on the Thunder.
Moving forward, the Thunder have the chance to sweep this series against the Suns. It will be unsurprising if or when that happens, but in the meantime, the Thunder are celebrating the fact that they have SGA as their superstar for the foreseeable future.
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