In today’s NBA news, Andrew Wiggins is near a return, Zion Williamson isn’t and the Thunder are more playoff-ready than anyone thought.
Wednesday night’s Play-In Tournament games were upset-heavy, with both No. 10 seeds winning — the Chicago Bulls eliminated the Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Pelicans.
The story in Toronto was the delightful free-throw shrieking of DeMar DeRozan’s 10-year-old daughter. In New Orleans, it was the NBA’s second-youngest team looking incredibly poised and moving on. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was as dominant and as efficient as he’s been all year but the Thunder also got 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists from rookie center Jaylin Williams, and 31 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds from second-year wing Josh Giddey.
It was an impressive performance and sets up a fascinating opportunity for the Thunder against the Timberwolves with a chance to earn the first playoff series of their rebuild.
How did the Thunder upset the Pelicans?
The Thunder really won the game in the third quarter, a 12-minute period where Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander completely took over the game and single-handedly outscored the Pelicans. Those two combined for 29 points and the majority of their points came on self-created looks (two of Gilgeous-Alexander’s buckets were officially assisted by Giddey but unofficially involved multiple dribbles after the pass).
The Pelicans gave Herbert Jones the primary responsibility for Gilgeous-Alexander but the Thunder were smart about using switches to separate them. Here, an early attack in semi-transition puts Josh Richardson on the spot and allows Gilgeous-Alexander to spin into the lane for the layup.
Both Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander also targeted CJ McCollum, getting him involved in the pick-and-roll. Gilgeous-Alexander was able to utilize his considerable quickness and footwork advantages and was able to create some incredible finishes against the backline defense.
Giddey utilized his height advantage, bullying and shooting over the top in transition, before nailing a pull-up 3-pointer over McCollum later.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to score in isolation and make tough, contested shots has been a reliable offensive tool for the Thunder all season long. But in this game, we also had a chance to see how it works as an extra lever to create and target mismatches, the kind of variable that can swing a single game or brief playoff series.
But this team is deep with creators and playmakers and seeing Giddey get in on the action as well bodes incredibly well for this team. The Thunder have been learning how to win all season long but the regular season and playoffs are different. However, this game showed the Thunder exactly what that postseason format looks like and showed them they have at least some of the pieces to succeed.
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Andrew Wiggins could be back for Game 1
Andrew Wiggins hasn’t played for the Warriors since Feb. 13, taking a leave to care for his ailing father. However, he’s been working out with the team again and a Wednesday update from Bob Myers seemed to indicate he could be back in the lineup for Game 1 against the Kings.
It’s hard to understate just how huge this news is for the Warriors. Wiggins is an incredibly valuable piece in a vacuum but he’s especially important in the matchup against the Kings. He played them three times this year, averaging 25.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
But adding another switchable, versatile defender to the lineup is essential, especially against the rapid off-ball screens and dribble hand-offs the Kings like to run. Wiggins has reinvented himself as a top-notch wing defender with the Warriors and although he wasn’t quite as good this season he’s still a difference-maker at that end — in particular, his ability to trail screening actions and stay engaged with the ball-handler, challenging shots from behind or from the side.
This matchup is going to be a dream for those who love Xs and Os, two versatile teams who run complicated, motion-heavy schemes. Even if you aren’t a fan of the Warriors, having both teams as close to full strength as possible is only going to make things more fun.
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The fall of Zion
Zion Williamson finished his season with a string of 46 consecutive games missed as he recovered from a hamstring injury. His absence from the NBA Play-In Tournament was not entirely unexpected but definitely complicated by his comments the day before: “I can pretty much do everything. It’s just a matter of the level that I was playing at before my hamstring. I don’t want to go out there and be in my own head and affect the team when I can just be on the sideline supporting them more.”
The idea that he was mostly physically recovered and still struggling with the mental piece was only reinforced by a pregame workout that had him throwing down windmill dunks.
On his four-year rookie contract, Williamson played 114 NBA games — an availability rate of about 37 percent. As the Pelicans wrestle with a disappointing end to a disappointing season it’s worth considering just what role Zion has in their future. Healthy, he is among the 10 or 15 best players in the league, a potentially transformational talent. His five-year, $194 million extension kicks in next season. At this point, the concern is less about the salary and more about building a plan with such a chaotic, unknown variable at the center.
Selling on Zion this summer in a trade almost certainly means accepting less than the full value his talent should command. But rolling into next season hoping for different results with the same plan feels dangerously close to insanity. They might get lucky but all the bad luck they’ve had with him to this point doesn’t mean they’re due.
Today’s NBA Trivia
Which No. 1 pick (in the NBA Draft Lottery era) played the fewest games during their first four seasons in the NBA?
The answer for yesterday’s trivia question: Jayson Tatum has the record for most points scored in a game during the NBA Play-In Tournament — scoring 50 in a Celtics’ win over the Wizards in 2021.