In the Western Conference Summit, the Thunder, who finished third, defeated the first-place Timberwolves 129-106. There is no doubt that the current Thunder is too strong, and Alexander's firepower is no longer inferior to that of peak Harden, plus the dominance of Chet Holmgren on the inside. The Thunder have a strong internal and external duo, facing the twin towers of Towns and Gobert, the Timberwolves, who are known for their defense, the Thunder scored 129 points in the game, which is terrifying.
From the beginning of the first quarter, the Thunder were fierce, Alexander and Jalen Williams scored 12 points in a row, and the Thunder took the lead. The bench was also unusually brave, with Joe and Kenridge Williams unstoppable and the Thunder leading by nine points. Despite Edwards' response, Dort and Joe hit another three-pointer from distance to give the Thunder a 40-35 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the two sides exchanged offense and defense, and the Timberwolves relied on suffocation defense to chase 60-66 at halftime.
In the second half, the Thunder began to catch the Timberwolves' hole in the mid-range, and since Gobert could only crouch in the pit, Alexander began to punish the Timberwolves. He hit the mid-range combo and went 7-of-7 in the first quarter to help the Thunder stretch the margin to 11 points. In the final quarter, the Timberwolves were still off the line, and Jalen and Holmgren hit three three-pointers to put the game into garbage time, and the Thunder led by 23 points. Alexander scored 34 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals on 14-of-19 shooting, Holmgren had 20 points, 5 assists and 2 blocks, Jalen Williams had 21 points, Dort had 20 points, and Giddey had 8 points and 7 assists.
The Timberwolves had 25 points, Towns had 16 points and six boards, and Gobert had 10 points. Why do we say that even if the Timberwolves have the first record in the West in the regular season, they still can't go further in the playoffs? It is because the Jazz also played like this back then, and the Jazz won the first record in the West, but the playoffs stopped in the second round. Struggling to get past the first round is Gobert's limitation, and once you can punish Gobert for his crouching in three-point and mid-range, you can break down his defensive system.
The '18 and '19 Peak Rockets met the Jazz in the playoffs in two years, both times with a 4-1 gentleman's sweep, which was the unlimited singles of Harden and Paul. And now the Thunder already has Alexander, who is not inferior to the peak Harden, entering December, Alexander scored 43 points once, 38 points once, 34 points twice and 30 points many times. His 30 points are as simple as drinking water, and the 25-year-old Alexander is averaging 30.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
As Rockets fans say, if the 21 Rockets had packed up the list and Nets draft picks to Stud Alexander, maybe the current Rockets could make the league finale. Because the gap between the Rockets and the Thunder is really an Alexander. In terms of configuration, the Rockets backcourt Van Jordan, forward Dillon, big front Smith and center Shin Jing, and substitutes Whitmore and Amen Thompson. Not at all inferior to the Thunder's starters Keady, Dort, Jay and Chet, and even in terms of talent, except for Chet, the Rockets are better at other positions. If Jalen Green is replaced by Alexander, the Rockets can take off in an instant to compete directly for the championship.
In 21 years, the Thunder has not rebuilt the cornerstone, at that time, it was a big year list and the eye sign was very valuable, and there were rumors that the Thunder wanted the Rockets to be willing to provide Alexander, but the Rockets refused. After all, Jalen Green was blown very fiercely when he entered the league, with Jordan at the ceiling and Kobe Bryant at the bottom. If the '21 Rockets use the Roster pick and then pack the Nets draft pick, they can exchange Alexander and the No. 16 pick to continue to select Shin Jing. And Alexander doesn't affect the Rockets, after all, the Alexander Thunder didn't also get the roster in 22 to pick Chet, so it's a pity. When the Rockets got Harden from the Thunder, if they got Alexander, it would be the second robbery in history.