A great game by the two-time MVP when his team desperately needed a win to change the feel of a tumultous beginning to a season filled with so much hope.
The Thunder needed this road win over a playoff caliber team and as the norm…Shai did what had to be done, and he did it on a night when Ajay and Jared McCain were not sharp offensively. This is why I play that Superman video here and there on the blog.
Shai is just one of these unique athlete/humans who’s parents raised him to be in a word…accountable. MJ loves accountable people…even ones who aren’t NBA superstars. I don’t think you get this attribute from a specific Coach Mark drill. This usually comes from either mom and dad or perhaps a special grandparent.
This is why I love Shai and will gently go through this Thunder season with untethered positivity. I wouldn’t put this on the level of a Stage 4 journey, but it’s a journey which is going to require the mantra…’ONE DAY AT A TIME. BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT.’
This to me this is the the exact opposite of the tanking dynamic nonsense and more what I’m built for as a human/NBA blogger. Shai is the star saying… I’m the leader. This is my job. Let’s all find a way to get to the playoffs as a top six seed and see how healthy we can become by April. Let’s go, guys We can do this.
My 4 Stars of the Game go like this:
1 Shai…43 points in 38:36.
2 Kenrich… 12, 3, and +7 in 31:18, not bad for an insurance policy, eh.
3 El Grande… 8, 9, 2, and 1 and doing little-winning basketball things.
4 Micah Peavy… 8 and 5 in 16:13. Circle the 16:13. Coach Mark needs THOSE 16:13 every night moving forward. Link on a chain, Micah, that’s the mindset.
Josh Dix did play ten minutes and Shai mentioned him in his presser because that’s the kind of gracious leader Shai is. I will admit Josh played better and wasn’t a deer in a headlight liability. But this MJ isn’t Shai. Josh, Coach Mark needs more in those ten minutes versus better teams. Build on these ten minutes.
So if Micah and Josh give Coach Mark 26 minutes of functional basketball every game what does that mean? To me that means Coach Mark and Shai need only orchestrate 178 minutes of winning basketball from the rest of the roster on any given night.
MJ’s metric in that regard says Shai plays 36 minutes, while Micah and Josh play a combined 26 minutes. Simple math…240 minutes – 62 minutes = 178 minutes. Note: if you’re a Daily Thunder reader don’t even even consider this simple, mental basketball formula. It’s called MJ’s PULLING THE LINK ON THE CHAIN METRIC.
Next up for the Thunder…Cleveland again.
Accrued patience and wisdom by all if possible.
MJ