How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Destroyed the Phoenix Suns

The Oklahoma City Thunder wiped out the Phoenix Suns in just four games to move on to the second round of the NBA playoffs. During this series, the Thunder’s star guard and MVP frontrunner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, put together a historic offensive performance. Here’s how he completely dismantled the Suns’ defense.

SGA went absolutely nuclear during this series, averaging around 34 points and 8 assists per game on 67.8% true shooting. This is one of just four instances since 1984 in which a player has averaged 33 points and 8 assists per game on 65% true shooting during a four-game span in the first round of the playoffs. SGA’s otherworldly creation was on full display during this round.

Interestingly, He struggled to put the ball in the basket efficiently in game one, scoring 25 points while shooting just 27.8% from the field and missing all of his four three-point attempts. His 15 made free throws did a lot of the heavy lifting during this contest. His biggest issue in game one is that he was uncharacteristically ineffective scoring from the perimeter. He shot just 1/11 from mid-range and three-point range combined.

While he wasn’t very good as a scorer in this game, he still shone as a playmaker, recording seven assists while not turning the ball over once. His advanced stats were actually quite good in game one despite his inefficiency, as he had an offensive rating of 133 and an offensive box plus-minus of 6.5. His ability to get to the free-throw line and his efficient playmaking certainly had a lot to do with that.

Unfortunately for the Suns, this is as good as it would get for them because SGA flipped a switch in game two and entered a flow state for the rest of the series.

In game two, he poured in 37 points and nine assists while shooting 52% of the field and turning the ball over just three times. His scoring output was significantly better in this game as he shot 8/14 from mid-range, 2/5 from three, and 9/9 from the free-throw line. Our mid-range king was back, baby! 

SGA was even better in game three, racking up 42 points and eight assists on a ridiculous 90.2% true shooting. He didn’t take many threes in this game, but he was an assassin in the mid-range, shooting 10/11 from this area of the court. His mid-range excellence was reminiscent of the greatest mid-range shooter we’ve ever seen, 2015 Shaun Livingston. (IYKYK).

He didn’t get to the rim a ton in game three, but he shot 4/4 at the rim, and he got to the free-throw line 12 times with 11 makes at the charity stripe. Add on the eight assists compared to just three turnovers, and you’ve got a great all-around offensive performance.

In game four, SGA sent the Suns home with a strong performance in which he dropped 31 points and eight assists while shooting 58.8% from the field. This was his best rim finishing exhibit of the series as he shot 5/8 at the basket and attempted 11 free throws. 

Across the entire series, SGA was absolutely spectacular as an interior scorer, shooting 66.7% in the restricted area and 52.4% from mid-range. He also generated 49 free throw attempts, which is insane considering no one else on the Thunder had even 20 free throw attempts during this series.

SGA also did a great job of creating his own shot against the Suns, as 76.7% of his field goals were unassisted. He was able to get anywhere off the dribble, as 64.3% of his shots in the restricted area and 90.9% of his mid-range shots were unassisted.

His playmaking was exceptional as well, as he recorded 32 assists compared to just nine turnovers across four games. He led the Thunder in assists, and it wasn’t even close. He did this while having an AST/TO of 3.6, which is terrific.

This is the kind of performance you like to see from the best player in the world, and I’m excited to see how SGA performs for the rest of these playoffs.