How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Found His MVP Groove In Game 5

Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder managing a split of Games 3 and 4 against the Denver Nuggets to knot this second-round series at 2-2, they needed more from their MVP-caliber superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Across those two outings, the 6-foot-6 guard averaged just 21.5 points on 44.4 percent true shooting — far cries from both his regular season marks (32.7 points, 63.7 percent true shooting) and the production of Games 1 and 2 (33.5 points, 70.1 percent true shooting).

Headlined by Christian Braun and shrewd help positioning, Denver’s defense greatly flustered Gilgeous-Alexander during two games in the Mile High City. He struggled to find any space in the midrange, rarely turned the corner for slithery, unimpeded drives and the 3-ball he thought he’d honed during the regular season (37.5 percent) as a counter for these situations abandoned him (1-of-11 in those games).

Braun refused to bite on his shot fakes, stayed connected through bumps and shivers, and knew how to aptly time his contests. Looming help in the gaps deterred him as well. Sledding was tough for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, which posted their two worst offensive ratings of the season in these games.

What Changed For Gilgeous-Alexander?

Yet in Game 5 — a delightful treat of a playoff battle and among the finest NBA games to unfold all season — Gilgeous-Alexander found his mojo. He scored 31 points on 60.5 percent true shooting and Oklahoma City’s offensive rating perked up to 116.7, both of which were enough to outlast the resolute Nuggets and Nikola Jokic’s ethereal 44-point explosion.

Aside from their Game 2 rout, the Thunder’s half-court offense has been caught in second gear all series (33rd percentile or worse in half-court offensive rating during Games 1, 3 and 4, per Cleaning the Glass). That’s no surprise, given Gilgeous-Alexander’s wobbly ways of late and the general constraints his co-stars, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, are experiencing in the game’s final 47 feet.

So, Tuesday (as Lucas Kaplan theorized here), Gilgeous-Alexander opted to spring himself free with selective transition tirades. In doing so, he encountered newfound freedom in the paint while punishing Jokic and Aaron Gordon — the interior size often railroading his downhill dashes — for trailing the play as they frequently pounded the offensive glass, where they’ve crushed Oklahoma City.

He avoided the worries of help confronting him at either elbow and recognized Braun could not contain him when met with a head of steam. Braun’s done tremendous work defending the Canadian but he is not equipped to stonewall a guard as strong and fluid as Gilgeous-Alexander while backpedaling. Few perimeter defenders are, and Gilgeous-Alexander exploited that.

While its transition volume was actually the lowest of the series, Oklahoma City generated 1.9 points per possession on the fast break — its gaudiest mark of the five games and fourth-highest of any game this season, per Cleaning the Glass. For Gilgeous-Alexander in particularly, this amended approach spurred some welcomed diversity to his shot dashboard.

He attempted a series-high nine shots inside the restricted area and converted a series-high six of them. Prior to Game 5, he was just 9-of-13 inside the restricted area, good for a 16.3 percent rim frequency. That spiked to 39.1 percent Tuesday.

Yet Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder did not let open floor opportunities dictate the only times they could accelerate possessions. There was a glaring emphasis to set early clock picks for him near the slot and neutralize Braun’s point-of-attack chops. The threat of gap help can only do so much when a sturdy on-ball defender is missing from the equation. By his teammates screening Braun out of the action, Gilgeous-Alexander enjoyed room to breathe in the midrange, which had been absent much of the series.

According to the NBA’s tracking data, 56.5 percent of his field goal attempts occurred with 15-22 seconds remaining on the shot clock. During Games 1-4, that number was 40.1 percent. He went 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) on those looks in Game 5 and is up to 66.7 percent (30-of-45) on them for the series. When he shoots with 15 or fewer than seconds left in the possession this round, his success rate drops to 41.7 percent (15-of-36).

Gilgeous-Alexander also took just one shot with seven seconds or fewer remaining after averaging 2.5 such attempts the first four games — emblematic of renewed offensive flow for himself and the Thunder. He’s a tremendous tough shot-maker, but they were comprising nearly the entire diet and his decision-making suffered as a result. That’s not a viable path to efficient offense. Game 5’s tweaks allowed him to mix in some simple buckets, particularly throughout the second half. The composure necessary for his dominant offensive signature returned.

Improved Playmaking

Although his issues predominantly resided in the scoring column, Gilgeous-Alexander’s playmaking limitations have also cropped up this series. The vast majority of his assists have been es directed to the perimeter, whether they stem from spot-up threes or someone attacking a closeout beyond the arc.

During the first four games, five of his 29 assists were to someone already inside the arc upon catching the ball. Two were pocket es to Isaiah Hartenstein, another two came out of post-ups locating cutters, and another happened after his shot gather was disrupted and he called an audible to feed Hartenstein.

Just one of those was a true North-South and it was a response to Plan A being zapped. Nearly all of his table-setting travels East-West; that rigidity can hamstring the offense. He’s hardly set up rollers, cutters or anyone floating along the baseline, often behind Denver’s final wall of defense.

The Nuggets are constantly playing zone because they’re excelling at it and Oklahoma City isn’t scoring them out of it. Jokic typically anchors the middle well in front of the rim. He wants to prevent stress-free catches near the nail and doesn’t trust the Thunder to penetrate the shallow backline he establishes. That gambit has largely paid off. Gilgeous-Alexander & Co. are not burning Denver’s shallow backline. The Thunder lose a few feet of precious real estate every time the baseline and dunker spot become dead zones offensively.

In Game 5, though, signs of progress emerged. A playoff-high 39.8 percent of Oklahoma City’s were at the rim, the team’s fifth-highest mark this year. Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring and facilitating helped shape that. Two of his seven assists were directed North-South, as well as a third ending in free throws for Holmgren (note how Gilgeous-Alexander freezes Michael Porter Jr. on the third clip by staring down Luguentz Dort and capitalizing on his East-West ing habits).

Gilgeous-Alexander’s possible development as an interior er could have a ripple effect for the whole offense. At times in Game 5, Oklahoma City vacated the wings and flattened out, sending everyone below the break and granting him more room to operate one on one. While that arrangement can complicate Denver’s nail help against Gilgeous-Alexander, it also removes his clearest and most comfortable ing outlets.

But if he can be a reliable interior facilitator who primes cutters and dunker spot release valves when defenders inside tilt toward him, that type of floor balance is easier to replicate. He’d remain a flexible initiator equipped to dissect whatever coverage a defense tosses at him.

His ing ability influences the spacing with which he works. Led by the former, they swell and shrink together. More ing games like Tuesday’s second half (four assists, one turnover) will be accompanied by more scoring games like Tuesday’s second half (20 points on 8-of-12 shooting).

The Thunder have another game to win this round before they can even think about broader, loftier postseason goals. Denver is very good, talented and well-coached. A fourth victory will probably not arrive easily nor should anyone expect it to. Regardless, schematic tweaks from the coaching staff and progress from their franchise pillar are encouraging. He’ll need to keep adapting against future opponents (if they arise) to shepherd the Oklahoma City attack and maintain his imprint as an offensive supernova.

Following two troublesome showings, Game 5 was a proper step forward — both for his playoff poise and the Thunder’s prospects of reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016.