Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is Making Up for Lost Time

When star Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed 10 games with an ankle sprain in January and February, it gave other OKC players a chance to step up.

Players like Aleksej Pokusevski and Darius Bazley, who seemed like lost causes just a few weeks ago, suddenly found themselves contributing at a high level. Tre Mann got more time and some starts. Even Theo Maledon flashed the potential that made him intriguing one season ago.

But no Thunder player shined brighter during SGA's absence than Josh Giddey, the Australian rookie guard, who picked up the slack at the point guard position and started racking up triple-doubles left and right.

Oklahoma City went a respectable 4-6 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out, shocking many who thought the team would simply use the opportunity to nosedive in the standings. Finally, after the All-Star break, Gilgeous-Alexander was back in action last Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

You'd never know he had been away.

Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show that night against the Phoenix Suns, the NBA's best team by record, logging 32 points on 13-for-22 shooting in a 124-104 loss that was closer than the final score would suggest. He paired nicely with Giddey, who brought the ball up more often to initiate the offense for Gilgeous-Alexander. As it turns out, that was all by design.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault explained after the game that, moving forward, Giddey will play on-ball more often while SGA will be off. It's not that Gilgeous-Alexander will never run the point any more, Daigneault explained — he values an offense with multiple creators — but given Giddey's rapid development, it makes sense to have the ball in his hands.

Gilgeous-Alexander admitted later that playing off the ball more often is not his "plan A."

"It’s something that you have to sacrifice to be a really good team. I know that,” he said, recalling his experience sharing a backcourt with Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder two seasons ago.

“I know to be one of the best teams in the league, which we want to be very soon, you’ve gotta have multiple guys that can play on the ball.”

Thunder fans were excited to see how the SGA-Giddey pairing would continue to develop. Unfortunately, when Giddey missed the next two games with hip soreness, it denied them the chance.

But it did put the ball squarely back into Gilgeous-Alexander's hands, and the point guard did not disappoint.

Because Indiana's record is nearly as bad as the Thunder's, some fans and pundits thought a loss on Friday night could do the team some good for NBA Draft purposes. The Thunder players did not get that memo. They played a thrilling, back

They played a thrilling, back-and-forth contest with the Pacers in Indianapolis, nearly winning in regulation but forced to overtime by a last-second Lance Stephenson 3-pointer.

No matter; Oklahoma City pulled ahead, held on, and shocked the new-look Pacers 129-125 on their home court. SGA was spectacular. In his

SGA was spectacular. In his second game back from injury, he racked up 36 points with eight rebounds and five assists while getting to the line regularly. His team was missing not only Giddey but also Lu Dort, Ty Jerome, Kenrich Williams and the indefinitely injured Mike Muscala and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

But that didn't stop them from beating Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and the Pacers.

Oklahoma City came back to earth on Monday night against Sacramento at the Paycom Center, despite playing the Kings neck-and-neck through three quarters. The Kings pulled away in the end, 131-110, but not without another 37 points and 10 assists from Gilgeous-Alexander.

OKC returns to the court on Wednesday, March 2 when they take on Denver in the Mile High City. It then returns home for a Friday contest with Minnesota and a Sunday game against the Utah Jazz.

Hopefully, Giddey will return soon and give Thunder fans another look at the team's backcourt of the future. Enjoy the games, everyone, and Thunder Up!