Shai

Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander continues to shoulder the bulk of the scoring workload for the injury-plagued Thunder who are without starters Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren. He came up short in his bid for a third consecutive 40-point performance, but that was mostly due to the fact that he wasn’t needed in the late stages of a one-sided affair. He got some significant help from youngsters Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain as the trio accounted for 75 of Oklahoma City’s 98 points through three quarters in a lopsided affair. The Thunder are back in action with a home matchup against the Wizards on Saturday.

The Thunder are going smaller in this game than they did against the Cavs with Aday Mara heads to the bench and Jared McCain returns to the starting lineup. Mara will go back to being a backup center while McCain might get more minutes in this game. If McCain is available, he might be worth grabbing if you need some points and 3’s.

Gilgeous-Alexander has destroyed the Cavaliers in the last two games. The two-time defending MVP has 85 points and two wins against Cleveland going all the way back to Monday. Gilgeous-Alexander can reach heights few players in the NBA can. He showed that again Wednesday and will likely continue to have some monster nights while the Thunder are missing multiple starters.

Gilgeous-Alexander had only eclipsed 30 points twice in the first six games of the season before dropping 43 points in the win over the Cavaliers Monday. The 28-year-old point guard had a full stat line that also included four rebounds, eight assists, one steal, two blocks and four three-pointers. Given the amount of injuries the Thunder are dealing with, Gilgeous-Alexander is going to continue to have nights like this to keep the team afloat, which is a boon for his fantasy value.

Since the October 25 game against the Clippers in which Oklahoma City lost Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, Gilgeous-Alexander has shot 49.1 percent from the field and 5-of-17 from beyond the arc. Of course, the Thunder have also lost Chet Holmgren since last Sunday, which allows opposing teams to devote even more attention to slowing down SGA. Fantasy managers will hope his efficiency doesn’t take too big a hit in the weeks to come. Oklahoma City plays four games next week, starting with two against the Cavaliers on Monday (away) and Wednesday (home).

In the aftermath of the injuries to Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams, some may have expected Gilgeous-Alexander to shoot until his arm fell off. That didn’t happen, as the reigning MVP got his points while also trusting his teammates. SGA recorded just three assists, but he shot the ball well and notched his second consecutive games of 25 points or more. Oklahoma City plays two more games in Week 2, starting with the Mavericks on Wednesday.

On a night when he saw three teammates leave the game with injuries, Gilgeous-Alexander carried the Thunder in the third quarter. The reigning MVP scored 16 of his 34 points in the period, shooting 7-of-11 from the field. SGA went cold in the fourth, but his teammates provided enough help to keep Oklahoma City undefeated. The Thunder play three games in Week 2, starting with the Suns on Monday.

Gilgeous-Alexander started extremely slowly on Thursday, scoring just two points on 0-of-6 shooting in the first half. The reigning MVP scored 15 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to extend his streak of at least 20-point games to 142. Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t have many nights like this, so fantasy managers have no reason to worry. The Thunder host the Clippers on Sunday in their final Week 1 game.

The back-to-back MVP started his campaign for three straight with a statement performance against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. He somehow improved his game even more this summer, and it was on full display in the win. He was one of the top few picks in fantasy basketball drafts and was more than worth the early selection. He’ll look to stay hot in their home opener against the Nuggets on Friday.

Gilgeous-Alexander was -24 in 26 minutes in the 116-89 loss to the Rockets. Still, he was able to score 17 points on 12 attempts and made all five of his free throws. The reigning two-time NBA MVP typically comes off the board third overall in fantasy drafts this year.