The Thunder and the luxury of its executives being able to rest in the Finals
A magnificent and expressive performance as he is used to. Last night on the floor of the Hornets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander it took just 29 minutes to score 33 points (13/19 shooting, including 3/4 from distance), 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Without playing the fourth quarter.
At 12 minutes from time, his team led by 17 points (70-87), and after that they won’t really worry. ” It’s a luxury to do that », admits Marc Daigneault on the fact that he is able to rest his star and his executives throughout the quarter.
« We have to listen to what the game tells us, what the season tells us. We will never force anything. But when we manage to take the lead like that, with a group that plays well on the pitch, and when the match gets to a point where we feel comfortable, it allows us to make the others play », defends the coach.
The interest is therefore twofold: to rest the stars and at the same time allow the “role players” to “ develop, accumulate minutes “. So Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Alec Caruso or players who are even less mobilized in the usual rotations can gain confidence for the rest of the event.
Only six quarters played!
An approach heavily advocated by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The leader of the Thunder has only the 33rd most playing time in the league with 33.6 minutes. This is currently his lowest amount of playing time since his third NBA season. Since the start of the season, the Canadian has only played… six quarters (in 14 games).
« It certainly saves my legs a little, that’s for sure. Whatever the outcome of the game, you have to adapt. It’s nice to be able to rest your legs for a bit, that’s for sure », he said recently about these breaks at matches.
The rest is all the more appreciated because he started the season brilliantly with the first two matches, played in double overtime, with more than 45 minutes of play. Since then, he has not played more than 40 minutes.
2025-11-16 12:01:00
