It is only in the shootaround that Nickeil Alexander Walker discovered that he would start against the Thunder. The idea of confronting his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a place in the playoffs was already exciting, but it became even more so when he learned that he would start the game in place of Jaden McDaniels.
“This morning, at the shootaround, I saw my name in the duels, and I finally made the connection” tells the back of the Wolves, who arrived during the season from Utah. A tenure blown by the president of the franchise, Tim Connelly.
“Honestly, it was Tim Connelly who came to me and said, ‘It’s a crazy idea, but what do you think?’ I thought it made perfect sense.” recognizes Chris Finchwho knew Nickeil Alexander-Walker when he was an assistant for the Pelicans. “Like most rookies, he had problems defending. The game was too fast and he was trying to catch up. But he has really added intelligence in defense and competitiveness to his game, and that will allow him to go far, because he is an intelligent player”.
On arrival, this “crazy idea” worked perfectly since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game 5 out of 19 on shots! It had been a long time since the Thunder leader had had such a complicated evening, and his cousin had a lot to do with his 12 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks!
“We won thanks to him! »
“It’s the X factor” thus believes Karl-Anthony Towns. “We won thanks to him! He had a very, very difficult task defending on Shai, who has been fantastic all year and is one of the best scorers in the NBA. We won thanks to what he did. It is impossible to see it otherwise. »
Friday, 41 times, NAW found himself defending on SGA, and facing him, the back of the Thunder only scored 8 points to 3 out of 12 on shots! When we know that Mike Conley is not a penguin in defense either, we understand better why the Giddey-SGA duo had an ordeal with a 7 out of 32 on cumulative shots!
“Knowing him so well gives us the best possible scouting report to help us win. It’s a bit like when you play for a team, you get traded, and you have to play against that team again. You know everything about this team »explains Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is 52 days apart from his cousin. “I’ve known him all my life, so I know him pretty well. And the best I can do to help my team is tell them everything I know to get the win.
Mission accomplished!
