Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a shocking 124-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, marking their first back-to-back loss of the season. While the Thunder’s sudden dip in performance could raise concerns about the team’s future, Gilgeous-Alexander maintained a positive outlook for the season.
While speaking about the blowout loss during his post-game media availability, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appeared quite composed in addressing the team’s shortcomings and how they could bounce back.
“Same thing you do at the end of every game,” Gilgeous-Alexander shared. “You look at the things you did bad, you try to correct them. You look at the things you did good, you try to keep doing them. Tonight we just definitely had more things we did bad than good. So it’ll be a longer lesson than it is usually with bad things. But nonetheless, we’ve got to wake up tomorrow and get better.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued by stating:
“We are not where we want to be at the end of the season. We’re far from that. We’ve got to be a lot better if we want to achieve our goals.”
The Thunder superstar’s response to the loss is a clear depiction of OKC’s mindset and the team’s resilience as reigning champions. Still, the recent string of performances doesn’t instill much confidence in their current form.
With a 6-6 record in their last 12 games, the Thunder appear to be vulnerable. Although the fatigue from playing on the second night of a back-to-back may have affected the team’s performance on Monday night, other problems may be lurking.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Struggled Against Charlotte
Although the Charlotte Hornets have a defensive rating of 117.8 (26th in the NBA), the team managed to restrict one of the best offensive teams in the league to below 100 points. While this could hint at Charlotte’s improved defensive schemes, it is more likely a reflection of the Thunder’s offensive struggles.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in particular, had a tough time against Charlotte. Although he scored 21 points, successfully building upon his impressive streak, the process of notching this wasn’t pretty.
The Thunder superstar shot 7-21 (33.3%) from the field and 1-6 (16.7%) from beyond the arc. Given that he is posting shooting splits of 55.4% from the field and 41.9% from three-point range this season, it is evident that he fell short of the mark.
His poor shooting form on Monday night didn’t affect his efficiency from the charity stripe, as the reigning MVP went 6-6 on his free throw attempts. But considering that he is averaging 9.0 free throws per game this season, Gilgeous-Alexander had a tougher time getting to the free-throw line.
The Thunder guard wasn’t the only player to struggle offensively on Monday night. Although Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams combined for 31 points, they shot a collective 11-25 from the field. With sporadic contributions from the remaining players on the roster, OKC will hope to put this game behind them and return to winning ways soon.
