Alexander: A good boy who was in charge early and never wants to let go of the waves?
Today the Thunder vs. the Lakers, trailing by 12 points in the first quarter and on the verge of collapse, Alexander took over:
Three pull-up shots, one step-back shot, and three free throws made it 11 points in three minutes to close the score, and 22 points in the first half to put the Thunder up 72-60.
After that, it was very low-key: 18 shots from the field, quietly 33 points. Of the 18 games this season, the 12th game is 30+.
And: 0 turnovers.
He naturally plays the game and does not brush.
Smooth and disciplined.
Alexander has been in the league's top four scoring league for two consecutive seasons: averaging more than 30 points per game.
However: a single game-high 43 points. A career-high 44 points.
Mitchell, Lillard and Booker all cut 70+. Tatum and Luka also scored 60 points. Maxi has already scored 50 points this season.
Alexander, who was the Thunder boss for five years, scored a maximum of 44 points.
In the Thunder starters this season, three people are eating rookie contracts, and Dort was still on rookie contracts last season. It is said that Alexander, unlike Luka with Irving and Tatum with Jaylen Brown, should have taken over.
But Alexander has a maximum of 44 points and has not shot more than 30 in a single game in his career.
He has scored less than 20 points in only one game this season, only three games where he has scored less than 25, and only two games where he has shot less than 40 percent. There were only two games in which there were more than three mistakes in a single game.
Today, he scored 22 points in the first half, but he only had 18 shots and 0 turnovers in the whole game. He really doesn't brush.
Smooth and disciplined.
When it comes to self-discipline, Coach Calipari has something to say.
It's no secret that Calipari has a talented attacking guard: Rose, Wall, Evans, Booker, Murray, Fox, Monk and Maxey.
Alexander was a bit special: he started low, went to Kentucky as a substitute, then Coach Calipari promoted him to a starter, and then he couldn't put him off the bench.
Similarly, he came to the Clippers in 2018 and played nine games off the bench and never sat off the bench again.
Coach Calipari praised his disciples in a variety of ways, and when he praised Alexander, "he is self-disciplined." "It is said that when he was a freshman, he still had long hair, and then he consciously cut his hair short, and he was self-disciplined on and off the court, and he came off the bench to start. Coach Kalipari says why not let him come off the bench again?" ”
Alexander's teammate at the time, Van der Biao, said: "When SGA didn't play professional basketball, it was a professional player. ”
Smooth and disciplined.
Today he made 10 free throws. It's no surprise: for four seasons in a row, Alexander has broken through with the ball, the most in the league.
He has relatively few screens around the ball – compared to Luka, Young, and Mitchell.
That is, Alexander's most ball-handling breakthroughs in each game in the league are basically sudden.
Such a player should be like a prairie fire: but he focuses on precision and calm.
You can start with a flash, change direction, lower the center of gravity, bow your head, and grab a step.
There is also this: when you suddenly change direction, you will wonder, "Isn't that almost skater just now, not a feint?"
Of course, he will also call cover, but not necessarily by cover.
For example: called the cover to put his left hand, one frustrated to the left, coaxed the cunning Caruso, and then one started and went directly to the bottom line.
Speaking of coaxing Caruso, one more sentence:
Alexander is very disciplined and does not shoot randomly, and he pays attention to detail in every shot.
Like this ball: After he hits, Caruso reaches out and takes responsibility. Why?
When Giddey hit the ground and passed, Alexander started, Caruso expected him to shoot, and he was already on his knees and about to jump;
This is pure wits - Kobe Bryant fought Battier back then, and that's it.
Alexander likes to play the time difference.
Like the ball below, Caruso's pace prepares Alexander to the left, Alexander pulls the ball to change direction, changes his pace, forces Caruso to turn his hips, bursts to the free throw line, makes a sharp stop, and jumps.
"Attacking the opponent's front foot", the most textbook case.
Even if Caruso does not make mistakes, Alexander can beat him:
Alexander broke through with a fake cover, allowing the opponent's interior defender to block Caruso, and when he crossed the free throw line, he stopped slightly, and Giddey cut out at the same time, and the Bulls cleared the basket; Alexander took advantage of the time difference to go straight to the basket and lay up at a side angle.
He started with three Bulls defenders in front of him, and when he shot, there was only the basket in front of him: taking advantage of his teammates' and opponents' moves, and the timing was just right.
On the ball, there is a similar application.
At this point, Gobert had already called his teammates to pay attention, and he stepped from the weak side to the basket, ready to block.
Alexander rose to the occasion and broke through, walked to the corner of the penalty area, and jumped back:
He slid over the edge of Gobert's defensive range and scored.
The triumph of time difference, rhythm and angle. This is the routine used by Wade against Rashid in 2005 and Kobe Bryant against Duncan in 2008.
So when it comes to being fast, Alexander isn't necessarily the fastest.
The shots he gets rid of are mainly based on balance, pace and angle: so it makes sense for him to dribble and turn around and pull sideways.
It was his breakthrough threat that gave him a new killer move now:
His start-up grab is so good at breaking through the position – but what if the opponent does keep up?
Push the opponent's center of gravity and stop and retreat in the middle of the shot.
What Tatum and Edwards are trying to use this season, and what Leonard and Harden used to score five years ago, is Alexander's housekeeping stunt.
Get rid of the jump shot this season:
Luka scored 14 points per game and shot 43 percent from the field. Haliburton shot 45 percent from 12 points, Booker and Brunson shot 46 percent from 11 points per game, and Fox shot 43 percent from 10.5 points per game.
Alexander's pull-up jump shot scored 10.3 points per game and shot 50 percent from the field.
Behind him is Edwards, who has 10 points per game and a 48 percent shooting percentage.
Of course, Alexander's high shooting percentage is mainly due to his more mid-range shots and less three-point shooting.
But that's what he is:
The league's most ball-handling breakaways — can't get in? push you, and the league's leading pull-up jump shot.
- The same was true for Wade in 2008-09.
So in the first quarter today, he even got rid of four shots, and his thick eyebrows couldn't reach him.
This is Alexander:
He plays very disciplined, and he doesn't fire infinitely just because he is the big boss of the Thunder leading a group of rookies to play.
Control mistakes, take over in time, and try to handle each ball with precision and care.
His 40 points against the Bulls last week, Caruso raised his hand many times to take responsibility: their matchup is very similar to Kobe Bryant's technical discussion against Battier, an offensive and defensive student.
Prince and Bushy Eyebrows didn't take care of him today, but he scored 33 points on 18-shot shooting and had 0 turnovers.
What else could limit him?—— except for his unself-indulgent personality?
Shay shot 57 percent from the field against defenders this season and scored 300 points in 124 minutes.
Against the forwards, he shot 52% from the field and scored 182 points in 81 minutes.
- Defenders usually like to play against strikers and centers, but he is not.
He can do whatever he wants, such as Tarusso and Mitchell, but he struggles with Batum in Philadelphia and Red when he meets the Timberwolves.
Probably because: he's a defender, but his style of play doesn't depend on athleticism, it's about pace, rhythm and intelligence. When he encounters a guard who is one younger than him, even if the opposite side can keep up with his speed, he can rely on pace and scratching jumpers to score points.
On the contrary, when he encountered a large striker, the body collided, and he struggled:
After all, he was 81 kilograms when he entered the industry, and now it is said that he will be 90 kilograms. Although I was filling in my muscles, I wasn't strong enough after all.
He doesn't have Curry, who can bully the opponent's three-point shot at will.
But who knows?
His three-point percentage over the last three years, 30 percent, 35 percent, 36 percent.
Free throw percentage: 81%, 91%, 94%.
Constantly improve something.
Maybe when he shoots three-pointers, or adds muscles, it'll be another situation.
He is so self-disciplined, why can't he practice?
After all, although he is the big brother of a bunch of rookies, although it is already the fifth year as the Thunder's leading scorer:
But Alexander himself was only 25 years old.