Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder can sense the Minnesota Timberwolves breaking beneath their defensive stress following a 118-103 Recreation 2 victory that gave his staff a 2-0 collection lead within the Western Convention Finals.
The Thunder star, who scored 38 factors with eight assists, mentioned his staff feeds off defensive stops to create offensive momentum and psychological benefits over opponents.
“Yeah, you may really feel it,” mentioned Gilgeous-Alexander. “What occurs is you (can) really feel us string collectively stops. That is what’s encouraging. And I believe that is what’s made us actually good. Our staff actually enjoys taking part in protection, and finds it very enjoyable. And after we rating, cease, rating, cease — the stops (are) what will get us going. We will play sooner. We play assured. And (then) we’re on the market operating and simply hooping. Us having fun with getting stops is certainly the important thing to that.”
Thunder Protection Creates Psychological Breakdown
The psychological influence of Oklahoma Metropolis’s protection turned evident all through Recreation 2, culminating in Jaden McDaniels shoving Gilgeous-Alexander in the course of the fourth quarter with the Thunder main by 16 factors. McDaniels later admitted the frustration foul was intentional.
Minnesota’s offensive struggles have been stark towards the league’s top-ranked protection. The Timberwolves shot simply 38.2 p.c from the sector and 28.9 p.c from three-point vary by way of two video games, effectively under their common season averages of 46.8 and 37.7 p.c respectively.
Oklahoma Metropolis has transformed Minnesota’s errors into 53 factors off turnovers in comparison with simply 20 for the Timberwolves. The Thunder’s capability to pressure errors and capitalize instantly has created the rhythm Gilgeous-Alexander described.
Anthony Edwards responded with 32 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists however declined media availability after the loss. His silence, mixed with seen frustration from teammates like Julius Randle throughout heated exchanges with Lu Dort, bolstered Gilgeous-Alexander’s evaluation.
“They’re extraordinarily bodily. It is a completely different sort of physicality. However, I imply, they’re very related on the defensive finish,” Randle mentioned about Oklahoma Metropolis’s method.