3 Thunder Takeaways: Suns Blaze Past Thunder In SGA’s Return To Action

The timing felt right for a massive upset at Paycom Center.

The Phoenix Suns, the defending Western Conference champions, have raced out to the NBA’s best record at 48-10. However, they would be without point guard Chris Paul, the beloved former Thunder guard who suffered a fractured thumb in the Suns’ final game before the All-Star break.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, were welcoming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back into the fold after a sprained ankle kept him out for extended time. 

Surely the Suns would struggle on the road. Add in a heavy All-Star hangover lingering above their heads, playing without Paul’s talents would make things that much tougher.

Paul is playing in his 17th season, and he leads the NBA at a mind-boggling 10.7 assists per game.

Alas, this was not the case. Phoenix racked up 32 assists and made 53.5 percent of its shots en route to a 124-104 victory Thursday night over Oklahoma City.

First Takeaway: Shai-king The Rust Off

To be clear, the final score isn’t the most accurate way of describing how things went for either team. 

Both clubs had to get themselves into game-playing shape again with different pieces in different spots. Devin Booker slid over to the point guard spot to make up for Paul’s absence in the lineup. SGA’s return meant having the Thunder offense run through him for the first time in nearly a month.

The way the opening quarter ended for OKC seemed like a long night was ahead of it, but a late-second quarter charge nearly erased a 19-point lead and pulled the Thunder within three points at halftime.

Oklahoma City even had the audacity to take a lead in the third quarter. The unmitigated gall!

Speaking of rust, how did Gilgeous-Alexander look? Surely there would be some kind of minutes restriction on him. You don’t want to overwhelm your biggest horse in his first race in a long time.

Alas, this was not the case. SGA scored a game-high 32 points on 13-for-22 shooting in a team-high 35 minutes.

After the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander would be up and at ‘em Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.

I’m no doctor, but I’d say his ankle looked fine to me.

Second Takeaway: Cut From A Different Cloth

Gilgeous-Alexander’s return was not only a welcome sign for Thunder and NBA fans everywhere. It also meant the team’s Twitter hyped up his return by showing his fit as he walked into Paycom Center. 

OK.

Why Shai showed up dressed as a Band-Aid I’ll never know.

Some Twitter users believe SGA looked like a character from a video game called Among Us. Which, cool.

Lu Dort, who remained out Thursday with a shoulder strain, had a more everyman-type to his offering.

If a look could say, “I’m Canadian, I have the day off and I have to make a Tim Horton’s run real quick,” then Dort’s look was it.

This week's winter weather in Oklahoma, with Thursday being the eleventieth day in a row below freezing temperatures, has a lot of us digging deep into our closets for winter wear we haven't seen or worn in more than two years.

In all honestly though, I can only hope to aspire to match Dort's winter wear energy.

Third Takeaway: Who’s Laughing Now?

“Who?”

That was a question a large segment of NBA fans, including myself, asked themselves when Oklahoma City selected Josh Giddey with the sixth overall draft pick last summer. 

There was already disappointment among Thunder fans, as the NBA Draft Lottery ping pong balls bounced out of their team’s favor. No top-three draft choice, and here general manager Sam Presti goes spending another first-round pick on a teenager who looked like they never walked into a weight room.

The early returns look like we got this one wrong.

Giddey, the three-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month through the NBA’s first three months, capped off the first half of the season with three triple-doubles in a row. No rookie has done that since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1960-61.

Giddey’s two points, nine rebounds and six assists in the Rising Stars Challenge prompted high praise from LeBron James at NBA All-Star Weekend last week.

“He is really, really, really good,” James said. “He has a great pace about the game. Great vision. I’ve always loved pass-first guards who can see plays happen before they happen. Josh is one of those kids who can definitely see the game a lot quicker than a lot of guys out on the floor, and he has shown it. I think he has three straight triple-doubles and playing beautiful basketball.”

Giddey’s 15-9-6 line Thursday against the Suns is the kind of effort needed to take some pressure off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, so that SGA doesn’t have to be the only guy who can make things happen with the ball in his hands.

Now, with 23 games left to play, is the time for these two to get reacclimated to each other’s games and harmonizing the Thunder backcourt.