Jalen Williams and Jared McCain get the chance to prove themselves in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence.
The Thunder went 2-1 this past week, all without their superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. At first glance, the loss of Gilgeous-Alexander has been terrible for the Thunder, seeing them go 2-3 in the last five games and losing their top spot in the overall standings to the Detroit Pistons (who have played three less games but have lost less than the Thunder). His absence, however, allowed the chance for other players to grow and find their footing, possibly setting up a dominant Thunder run up to the playoffs.
The Thunder first faced the Lakers, who, without Luka Doncic, were never seen as able to beat the Thunder. However, the game stayed very close, ending up 119-110. Williams returned from a ten-game absence and put up a game-high 23 points, scoring 15 of those in the second half. Jared McCain played in his second game with the Thunder, although still in a limited role, and as a result, he wasn’t able to do very much. Still, he proved his effectiveness, scoring 7 points in 14 minutes.
The next game against the Phoenix Suns was similar. Except the Suns are not as good as the Lakers are even when they are healthy, and the Suns were out three crucial players, Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Grayson Allen. In other words, they got blown out. Williams was the leading scorer again, showing all the fans who had hoped he would grow into being a second scoring superstar behind Gilgeous-Alexander that their dreams might be coming true. What was most impressive, however, was that 74 of their 136 points came off the bench, a grand achievement for a team that has struggled to get anything other than Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-points-a-game for most of the season. For the Suns, it capped off a tough slate of games that now sees them in the top play-in spot in the West.
The final game, against the Milwaukee Bucks, was a shocking loss. Nobody scored over twenty points, and only three players for the Thunder even scored in double digits. Cam Thomas, who was picked up by the Bucks after the Nets surprisingly cut him, played in his third game for the Bucks and helped to fill the scoring void while Giannis Antetokounmpo was still out. That being said, the defending champions losing to the team seated 22nd in the league when that team doesn’t even have their superstar does not look very good. With the Pistons, the Spurs, and the Nuggets all surging, the Thunder have to get back to their form at the beginning of the season where they seemed unstoppable as the margin for error is thinning.
Thursday’s loss by the Thunder was a shock to many fans, even with star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander currently out. Photo courtesy of @okcthunder on Instagram.
The Thunder have five games left in February, playing the Nets, Cavaliers and Raptors before playing the Pistons and Nuggets in their last two games. Hopefully, however, Gilgeous-Alexander will be back for the Nets game, giving The Thunder their superstar back right before a critical test against two of the top teams in the league. If Williams keeps up his recent form, though, and McCain can find a steady role in the offense, they might not even need Gilgeous-Alexander to be a top-tier team.
