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Before the Denver Nuggets' Game 7 matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflected on his former team ahead of a potential second-round clash.
As Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault prepares his squad for Round 2 this week, Gilgeous-Alexander responded to the possibility of facing his former team in the Western Conference semifinals.
A reporter asked Gilgeous-Alexander if he'd considered the Clippers and the trade that sent him to the Thunder in 2019 as added motivation for a potential best-of-seven series.
“They did a long time ago. I haven't thought about them in years, though,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I can't hold, I guess you can say, grudges for like- for whatever reason, they moved on from me, and they thought it was a good idea, and the Thunder, vice versa. And those are the cards that I was dealt, and I just try to make the best of them.”
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander admits he's been watching the Clippers' first-round series against the Nuggets.
“I am. As much as I can,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We've seen both teams four times this year. So we kind of got a good pretty good feel for them. We know what they bring to the table, what challenges they present.
“Both of those teams are obviously good basketball teams. This series is what it is because of that. It's about us being ready for the challenge when the time comes, when we figure out who it is.”
The Nuggets will host the Clippers for Game 7 on Saturday.
Mark Daigneault on Thunder's preparation approach for Round 2
After the Thunder's first-round sweep against the Grizzlies, Daigneault revealed his approach for his team's upcoming Western Conference semifinal series. Daigneault focuses on team improvement while preparing to face the Clippers or Nuggets.
“We’re still working on ourselves. We don’t want to make any assumptions. We don’t want to put a lot of time into one team and then, next thing you know, the other team wins,” Daigneault said.
“So there’s enough we can work on, and there’s enough fundamentals that are gonna matter no matter what that we can work on them. We’re going to be at no disadvantage from a preparation standpoint relative to our opponent.
“They’re still playing in a series right now, whoever they are. And we’ve gotten used to these quick preparation turnarounds.” Daigneault concluded.
No official word on when the Thunder's second-round series would begin.
