Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder showed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams are one of the league’s best duos. Shai poured in 36 points, 15 came in the fourth quarter making it his fifth game in the last six with at least 30 points. Williams added 19 points and a pair of steals including one to ice the game. Isaiah Hartenstein has been exactly what the Thunder need while Chet is absent. The big guy put up 11 points in 36 minutes, but the 18 rebounds and five assists are the numbers that should really grab your attention. The Thunder, Spurs, and Suns are all now 2-1 in the West Group B of the NBA Cup.
Small ball has worked wonders for the Atlanta Hawks this season. The two guys to highlight in the smaller rotations are De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson. Both Hunter and Johnson have both been playing a lot of minutes at power forward making things difficult for opposing defenses because of their ability to score and make plays. The small ball lineup is beneficial for Clint Capela as well. He scored three consecutive baskets in the beginning of the second half to extend Atlanta’s lead to eight points and they never looked back. Let’s see how far this game plan can take them.
Darron Cummings, AP
It’s time to start taking the Pistons seriously. Before the season started, I picked them to at least be a play-in team and that’s looking likely at the moment. A big part of their success has been the offseason additions of Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris who give them an extra scoring boost. All five starters scored in double-figures in their win on Friday against a roller coaster Pacers team. Cade is playing like one of the best (if not the best) point guard in the league right now and Jaden Ivey has been a good running mate averaging 17.5 points per game.
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