Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was poised to miss his third straight game on Sunday against the New York Knicks due to his quad injury … and then he was not.
In a stunning turn of events for the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander has been upgraded to available in the Knicks showdown after initially being listed as doubtful for the contest. The doubtful designation often sees a player miss a game, but SGA's status upgrade is definitely a welcome boost for an Oklahoma City team that is aiming to reclaim the no. 1 seed in the West.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault confirmed the development, adding that they made the decision after Gilgeous-Alexander had a good shootaround prior to the New York game.
“Thunder coach Mark Daignault says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is available for tonight’s game against the Knicks. Said he came through shootaround without issues. SGA has been dealing with a quad issue lately,” Tim Bontemps of ESPN wrote.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's quad injury
Gilgeous-Alexander revealed the quad problem last Tuesday after their win over the New Orleans Pelicans, admitting that he's “a little banged up” in his quad. The Thunder then elected to rest him the following game against the Houston Rockets, which saw the team lose to the hot-handed Jalen Green and Co.
On Friday against the Phoenix Suns, SGA was ruled out again as he continues to recover from the health issue. Fortunately, OKC was able to bounce back and take down the Arizona-based franchise in dominant fashion.
While the Thunder really need their superstar, the fact of the matter is they want him to be 100 percent when the postseason rolls around. So, letting him rest and giving his quad more time to recover seem to be the best move. Having said that, the expectation was that SGA would sit out Sunday's game once again. His initial doubtful status certainly supported those predictions.
It remains to be seen if the Thunder will have some sort of minutes restriction for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but sure enough, Coach Mark Daigneault will be cautious of his superstar throughout the contest,
Thunder's status in the West
The Thunder are currently tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves record-wise at 51-22, but Minnesota is ahead by virtue of having the better record in the conference. With that said, OKC will have some motivation to beat the Knicks in hopes of staying in the race for the West's top seed and the homecourt advantage that comes with it during the playoffs.
Oklahoma City could really use SGA in the game, especially since they are facing a tough New York squad that is currently fourth in the East at 44-29. Not to mention that Jalen Brunson's team is equally motivated as they look to climb the East standings. They are neck-and-neck with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third seed.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists on 54.0 percent shooting from the field. He also leads the league in steals per game with 2.1, which further highlights his two-way impact on the Thunder.
While OKC is definitely deep and filled with young talent, they are simply a much better team with Gilgeous-Alexander playing. With that being said, hopes are high that SGA's injury is really finally healed and that he won't suffer any setback moving forward. Including the Knicks match-up, the Thunder have nine games remaining on the season.
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