Right back at it for these two, as the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder roll it out again tonight after going toe-to-toe on Sunday. Watching yesterday’s game, despite hanging around and keeping it close at times, it never really felt like the Nuggets were the team in control…again even during stretches where they went on runs to close up the score. As the clock ticked away in the fourth quarter, and Denver needing positive results every time down the floor, they got the opposite way too often. Shots didn’t drop, a combination of great D by the Thunder (even when Holmgren was on the bench with five fouls) and a lack of execution by Jokic and crew. OKC took advantage, going jab, jab, jab knockout punch down the stretch, hitting their shots.
Leading the charge, of course, was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who hung 40 on the visitor. We expect Shai, of course, to be one of the box score leaders when round two tips off tonight. While the 40 points was obviously impressive, we’re looking elsewhere for a prop play in this match up.
Tonight’s Play: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 6.5 Assists
Shai’s a point-getter no doubt. And he won’t be compared to the top distributors in the game whether from today’s crew, or yester-year. However, his playmaking deserves a little more shine than it usually gets. The headlines for him are about scoring, but he is quietly averaging 6.2 assists for the second straight season. And that number has ticked up recently, with him crossing 7 or more assists in seven of his last 10.
After hitting the big 4-oh last night, we’re expecting the defensive play calling to open up more opportunities for him to dish the ball off to teammates with open looks. He’ll be drawing a lot of attention, and when he does, there will be open shots elsewhere.
And this is a Nuggets’ defense that gives up a lot of assists to point guards, ranking in the bottom of the league in that category – and in fact, this team has been vulnerable all season in this area, regardless of position. The set-up is a good one for SGA to feed his mates.
Play: We’re on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 6.5 Assists (-115)