The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off their title defense with a game that may not be topped the rest of the year. Last night’s double overtime throwdown with the Rockets was pure cinema, with OKC finally overcoming Houston by a single point as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored five points in the final minute, including two free throws with 2.3 seconds left, to get the win.
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SGA is coming off one of the most impressive seasons in history, having won the scoring title, MVP and Finals MVP. He’s only the fourth player to ever pull off that triple feat, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it took every bit of that to win the MVP over three-time winner Nikola Jokic, and he was just able to outlast the big Serbian in a seven-game second round series.
Jokic got reinforcements this offseason with the Nuggets’ acquisitions of Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, and that’s a big reason why Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce believe so much in Denver this year. Garnett put the Nuggets just below OKC and in a second tier of contenders with the Wolves, Rockets and Clippers, but Pierce took it a step further.
On the latest episode of KG Certified, the Truth said, “I think Denver, if they’re healthy, they’re coming out the West. You still got the best player in the league over there, and Aaron Gordon had a hamstring injury in that Game 7 versus OKC. I figure like he healthy, that’s a problem. They’re a big problem for OKC.”
KG shook his head and whispered, “That’s a shot,” when Pierce put Jokic over SGA, asking his former teammate to clarify his stance. “Yeah, I’m taking Joker over SGA,” Pierce said. “‘Cause Joker gives me too many things, he can affect the game without scoring too much.”
Garnett countered by talking about Shai’s defensive effort and leadership over such a young team. “He’s got a young aura about himself,” Garnett said, but Pierce wasn’t swayed.
“But the Joker aura is a little bit different, it’s a little bit brighter,” he argued. “It carries so much more weight. Everybody gravitates toward the Joker,” asserted Pierce.
This is one of those debates with no wrong answer, because both SGA and Jokic are unbelievable talents who both make everyone around them that much better. The only way to settle it is on the court, which is why this season could be so interesting. Jokic almost derailed the start of a potential OKC dynasty last year with a shorthanded squad, but now he has more help.
At the same time, the Thunder brought everyone back from last year’s championship team, and they’re now a year more experienced and battle-hardened. It’s going to be difficult to top last season’s seven-game slugfest, but if we get a playoff rematch this time around, they may just do it.
