The Wolves vs. a brick wall
Holy Thunder
This is my favorite time of the NBA season. Four teams, games every night, it’s all lively and popping. (The Finals have a far slower pace and half as many teams.)
And this year it’s special. Watching the Thunder’s nail-biter Game 4 win in Minnesota, I had all kinds of thoughts that are below.
First, though, here’s David Thorpe’s high-level takeaway:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the second-best player in the world, the best non-center, and the current MVP of this season. He’s 26. He has been through some regular season and postseason wars, and is at the top of his game. That means more times, far more times, than not, he will attempt to make the big plays. Often, he will succeed.
Anthony Edwards is 23 and though this is his second WCF, he still presents more as a potential MVP level player than an actual one. He simply is not on SGA’s level as a consistent play/shot maker. Perhaps one day he will get there, the league is too good…
