With his 36 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was at his level against the Knicks. But to accompany him, Jalen Williams established his career record, with 36 points as well, at 13/17 including 5/5 from afar!
“He feels more and more comfortable, each match, each week, with the repetitions he does”, explains Shai Gilgeous-Alexander about his teammate. “The most important thing for him is that he is aggressive, this early in his career. He's starting to really get into it and trust his work. »
Allow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to rest
While Josh Giddey has lost his influence in OKC's game, the Australian not having progressed sufficiently in terms of shooting, Jalen Williams has already made a leap in the field, his external skill having notably increased from 35% last season, to 42% at the start of the campaign…
Above all, by establishing himself as a second reliable creator behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he allows the Canadian to rest, especially at the start of the fourth quarter, when he plays alongside Chet Holmgren.
“We trust each other a lot more than earlier in the year”explains the winger about his pivot, author of 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Mark Daigneault thus continued to rely on the duo to manage the Thunder's game when SGA was struggling on the bench, even if the results were not necessarily convincing since the start of the season.
“I take my hat off to them because there was a series of games where we were really dominated in those minutes – early in the fourth quarter, or early in the second quarter (when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is resting),” confesses the coach. “We tried a lot of different things, but they were the common denominators. »
A duo that is progressing
It was especially at the start of the fourth quarter that the Williams/Holmgren duo worked well against New York. Because while the Thunder was only +4 (93-89) at the start of the last round, and the minutes without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have been dangerous, the two young friends allowed their leader to rest.
And to come back, five minutes later, with a gap of +7 (106-97) to properly start the “money-time” of the match.
Like Chet Holmgren's counterattack on Julius Randle, punctuated by the counter-attack of a 3-pointer from Jalen Williams, the qualities of two players begin to complement each other and pull each other up.
“They did a great job communicating through this”concludes Mark Daigneault. “To build synergy together and incorporate the other guys – because the game is not limited to two players. I think they really embraced that, and they made a good example of it, because things aren't always going to be perfect. »
