Los Angeles Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled offensively over the past two games after making an impressive postseason debut almost a week ago.
After scoring 18 points in Game 1 of the Clippers' first round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Gilgeous-Alexander looked less assertive on offense and scored just a combined 11 points in Games 2 and 3.
Still, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has complete confidence in the 11th overall pick of the 2018 draft. And he said that Gilgeous-Alexander will need to take advantage of the Warriors' defense because they usually leave him unguarded.
“They're not guarding him for the most part and Shai's gotta be able to understand how to make plays out of that,” Rivers said, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “That's part of the learning process for him. But he can do it. I have complete trust in him.”
The Clippers will look to even the series at two games apiece, and if they want to have a better shot at beating the Warriors in Game 4, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will need to be more involved on offense. He's a career 47 percent shooter from the field, including 36 percent from the 3-point area, which means he can definitely knock down shots.
The pressure of going up against the reigning NBA champions might be starting to catch up on Gilgeous-Alexander, especially since this is his first time in the postseason. However, Rivers believes that he can shake off whatever rookie jitters he has left.
Game 4 of the Clippers-Warriors series will be on Sunday in Los Angeles.
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