Between the last two seasons, Oklahoma City Thunder He had won only 46 games out of 164 he played: he won 28% of his games. An expected number for a completely rebuilding franchise whose sole goal seemed to be to accumulate more and more Draft picks.
In the 2022-2023 Regular Phase, however, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Left. And the guard who came to OKC in 2019 to sign Paul George was responsible for leaving the franchise just one game away from qualifying for the Play-In. Another win for the Thunder (With one game ahead, vs. Memphis Grizzlies) or a Dallas Mavericks loss (against Chicago Bulls or San Antonio Spurs) and Oklahoma City will be one of the protagonists in the Western Conference battle for a place in the playoffs.
OKC was ranked the 23rd team in the entire league by sportsbooks heading into the season. 21 to 1 (+2,000) odds to make the playoffs, only better than the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. As the case may be, the Dallas Mavericks paid 1.18 to 1 (-550) and the Portland Trail Blazers 2.70 to 1 (+170). But the Gilgeous-Alexander level made them exceed all expectationsalready me 16 more wins than the Las Vegas 23 expected to get.
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The Canadian point guard had a stellar 2020-2021 season, in which OKC won 16 of 35 games he played, until the team decided to end his season to protect him from injury (and get a better position in the 2021 draft ). . This time they released Shai, and the Thunder are nearly 50% winning with him on the court: 33 wins and 36 lossesa record nearly equaling the franchise’s current 39-42 record.
Gilgeous-Alexander enrolls career highs in points per game (31.5, fourth best in NBA), blocks per game (1), steals per game (1.7, fourth best in NBA), free throw percentage (90.8%), free throws attempts per game (10.9) and field goal accuracy (51.2%).
With average of 31-5-5 at age 24;he’s stopped being the future to be the present, made his All-Star debut and is worth every bit of his 30 million annual salary, which even with the current NBA’s weird numbers, falls short even for a player who he will be All-NBA As the.
Oklahoma’s huge jump, 14 or 15 more wins from one season to the next, wasn’t because of moves in free agency (its biggest acquisition was Isaiah Joe, a backup guard) or because of a pick. Draft top: they selected Chet Holmgren with the 2nd pick and was injured before he could debut with the franchise, so he didn’t play a single game.
Josh Giddy6 pick in 2021, greatly improved his game and Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williamspicks 12 and 34 in the last Draft, were two great picks by the general management led by Sam Presti, but without a player of Shai’s caliber it is possible that Oklahoma City would have continued in last place in the West.
Now in Oklahoma they have Holmgren pending, 13 first round picks (and 10 second-round picks) from the next four editions of the Draft (10% of the next 238 NBA picks) already SGA under contract until mid-2027.
Whether or not they reach the Play-Ins and Playoffs this month, this phase of the project has already been crowned. The Thunder have their franchise player even more competitive than they have been, while other franchises in the West are on the verge of collapse. The future is theirs and they know it from the present.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s stats in the 2022-2023 season
(Getty Images)
31.5 points
4.8 rebounds
5.4 assists
1.7 robberies
1.0 plugs
2.8 losses
51.2% shooting from the field
35.0% in triple rooms
90.8% on free throws
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Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
