Skip Bayless Gets Candid About Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. Proving Paul Pierce Wrong

The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t get the respect they deserved for clinching the best record in the Western Conference during the regular season. Even after the #1 seed swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, not many were too convinced about the team’s chances. Yet, Skip Bayless always has been. So, following their Game 4 win against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinal, the analyst just couldn’t help but gloat about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co.

In the recent episode of UNDISPUTED, Bayless began his take on the Oklahoma City Thunder by claiming that the 2^nd youngest team in the NBA has already proven Paul Pierce wrong. To add to this, he simply stated that those who have underestimated this franchise have failed to see their consistent brilliance throughout the year.

“You’re underestimating what they’ve done all year long. This is who they’ve been all year long. They won 57 games, most in the West because this is how they do it. They led the NBA in double-digit comebacks,” Skip said.

The 72-year-old analyst gave a lot of credit to SGA. Apart from believing that he was snubbed off the MVP award, Skip also highlighted the Canadian’s consistency.

“What Shai has done, to lift this team to 57 wins, he just keeps doing it and doing it very quietly. He almost does it in the shadows… Because he doesn’t shoot threes, he’s all midrange,” Bayless lauded SGA.

Finally, the FS1 analyst complimented Mark Daigneault’s boys for being a resilient squad. He admitted he was very impressed with the fact that OKC’s playoff inexperience hasn’t been close to a matter of concern.

“They (OKC) do (endure). They will not quit on you, they won’t fold on you, they won’t say ‘you guys are just too good’,” Skip concluded.

Apart from Shai’s incredible 34-point, 8-rebound production, Skip Bayless also highlighted the impressive two-way performance by Lu Dort. And indeed, the defensive specialist has been incredible during this postseason, even holding Luka Doncic to some awful shooting nights. In fact, at this rate OKC Thunder may just turn out to be a bit too much for even the Dallas Mavericks to handle.

How can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. improve in this series?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the better side in most departments than the Dallas Mavericks through the first four games of the series. Additionally, the team has also been successful in protecting the ball, committing fewer turnovers.

As if this wasn’t enough already, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have also combined for almost 17 fewer points than they did in the series against the Los Angeles Clippers. When all this is taken into consideration, it seems obvious that the Thunder have a great chance to go back home, win Game 5, and eventually win the series.

However, the team does have a few points of concern. Due to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s increased production, the efficiency and offensive contributions of the other players have been reduced drastically. Each of the remaining four starters – Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dortz, and Josh Giddey – are all now scoring fewer points on worse efficiency.

Even though SGA consistently touched the 30-point mark this series, an off-night from the 25-year-old is now likely to rattle the team, given that every other major player seems to be out of rhythm at the moment.

If the rest of OKC can distribute and fulfill their offensive duties slightly better, the team will have a great shot at advancing to the Western Conference Finals. However, there are also dangers in shifting approaches this late on against a team like the Dallas Mavericks.

Simply put, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s situation isn’t yet as rosy as fans would like to believe.