SGA, Thunder look to keep rolling against Jazz tonight on TSN
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Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder will look for their ninth straight home win Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz.
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The Western Conference-leading Thunder have been rolling all season and appear well on their way to a second consecutive conference title.
The Thunder’s 35-7 record sits just behind the Cleveland Cavaliers’ league-best mark of 36-6. OKC is 19-6 in conference play and have lost just twice in their previous 16 games. The last time they fell at home was way all the way back on Dec. 17 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Much of that success is due to their league-leading defence. The Thunder allow an NBA-best 103.6 points per game and hold opponents to .428 from the field. That stifling defence was on full display in Sunday’s 127-101 victory over the Nets when they held Brooklyn to .425 from the field and .279 from beyond the arc. On the season, Oklahoma City's net rating — an estimate of potential points differential per 100 possessions — sits at a whopping +12.9.
But maybe the biggest reason for the Thunder’s magnificent season thus far has been the play of Gilgeous-Alexander, who is putting together another MVP-calibre season. And after ultimately falling short the last couple years, he may just win it this time around.
The Hamilton, Ont., native is leading the NBA in points per game (31.5) and is shooting an incredible .532 from the field, including .600 on two-point attempts. He’s also averaging 6.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals a night.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season in Friday’s loss to the Mavericks with a sprained right wrist, but returned with an efficient 27 points and four steals in OKC’s victory over the Nets Sunday.
According to FanDuel, Gilgeous-Alexander is the favourite to win MVP at -330, representing an implied probability of 76.74 per cent. Nikola Jokic is second in the race on FanDuel at +260 and Giannis Antetokounmpo is a distant third at +4000. Jokic won the award a season ago for the third time in four years.