The Raptors’ anti-SGA plan worked
When Shai Gilgeous-Alexander he leaves the court without greeting the opponents or the public, he is angry. this night his Thunder lost at home to the Raptorsand MVP 2025 failed to break through the opponent’s wall. Certainly, he was very skilled, but he only hit 11 shots, a very low total when he usually doubles.
“With Shay, Chet and so many talented players, at some point you have to choose what to acknowledge” explik Darko Rajaković. “They also have excellent shooters.
Our goal was really to limit Shai’s hits and make it as difficult as possible for him, while coming up with different schemes to force the whole team to adjust to those situations.
In fact, the Raptors decided to skip Lou Dort and prevent Gilgeous-Alexander from gaining confidence in his comfort zones. The Raptors have tall, mobile defenders, and SGA broke his teeth on this defense.
“The goal of the offensive game is to force the defense to put two players on the ball” reminds the NBA champion. “You get a good read from there. Whether they get to two themselves or you make them, it’s the same. So, I was just playing basketball. . . . Honestly, I felt like we controlled the game. We created good shots on offense. They scored 103 points tonight and that’s usually enough to win. That’s part of a night like that . . .”
What does Mark Daigneault, who failed to thwart the Raptors’ plans, think? “It took us a little time to get into the game. Then in the third quarter, we managed to find some energy and even take the lead at one point.” the OKC coach remembers. “But we have to congratulate them: they had the right system and played with a lot of energy throughout the game, so they deserve to win. There are things to take away from this match. They were obviously very aggressive with Shai. I think he did a very good job playing without the ball at the beginning, and that allowed us to generate some good shots. We will analyze our possessions in the evening.”
2026-01-26 07:50:00
