The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to roll; coming off a dispiriting road loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder bounced back in a big way, holding off the hard-charging New Orleans Pelicans and holding on for a 119-112 victory. Gilgeous-Alexander, in particular, redeemed himself, putting up 24 points, five rebounds, and eight assists to put his 12-point night during the weekend in the rearview mirror.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the most consistent stars in the league this season, and making matters even better, he has missed just one game this season. Alas, at this point of the campaign, every player who has been logging heavy minutes is dealing with some sort of wear and tear, and the Thunder star is no different. In fact, according to head coach Mark Daigneault, Gilgeous-Alexander is “banged up” and that he's “not a hundred percent”.
This will definitely be a point of concern for the Thunder, especially after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander confirmed that he did indeed sustain a quad injury during OKC's March 20 victory over the Utah Jazz.
“Yeah, little banged up in my quad. [Happened] in the Utah game. But yeah, just take it day by day and see how it feels when I wake up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via Ross Lovelace of Sports Illustrated.
“Yeah, little banged up in my quad. Happened in the Utah game.”
– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander expands on what Mark Daigneault said pic.twitter.com/eCpJnr2m3n
— Ross Lovelace (@Rosslovelace) March 27, 2024
The Thunder have just 11 games left in the regular season, and there is a chance that they can seal homecourt advantage in the playoffs through the Western Conference Finals as they're still within striking distance of the Denver Nuggets. However, getting to the postseason at full strength will be the team's focus, so it'll be interesting to see how the Thunder proceed with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's minor injury.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a paragon of consistency
The 2023-24 season has been a coming out party for the entire Thunder team; after three years of poor to middling results, they have become one of the best teams in the NBA, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's ascent into superstardom carrying OKC to great heights.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been exceptionally durable for the Thunder, turning the narrative of his career around after missing a combined 63 games during the first two seasons of OKC's rebuild. He has logged the 13th most minutes in the league this season, and his production has remained consistent, averaging 30.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists to go along with a league-leading 2.1 steals through 69 games.
The Thunder will now have to weigh the pros and cons of giving their best player a chance to rest in the final weeks of the regular season.
What are the Thunder's options?
It will be a quick turnaround for the Thunder following their resounding win over the Pelicans; they take on the Houston Rockets tomorrow. Given their admission of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's diminished physical state, there is a chance that he sits out that contest.
Their next six games will be awfully difficult, as they'll be facing six consecutive above .500 teams, including the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics. If there's a chance for Gilgeous-Alexander to rest up his banged up quad, the best opportunity during that span may come against the Rockets (second night of a back-to-back) or the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers (which is the front end of a back-to-back that ends with that heavyweight match against Boston).
OKC has games against the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs on April 7 and 10, respectively, so those may be prime opportunities for Gilgeous-Alexander to rest as well.
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