The Oklahoma City Thunder got obliterated last night in Milwaukee. The 1st quarter was promising enough; contesting shots, getting out in transition, crisp and unselfish ball movement. The 2nd quarter was more of the same, and the Thunder entered halftime trailing just 1 point.

Then the wheels came off.

The Thunder were doubled in scoring in the 3rd quarter, 34-17. We looked, one might say, like a deer in headlights. And that was all she wrote.

It was, let’s politely say, an uncharacteristic game for the Thunder.

Chet Holmgren had been on a tear of late, but folded against the Bucks, shooting 1-10 from the field. Josh Giddey had arguably his best game of the season with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, all while shooting 4-6 from 3. Not much bench production, poor all-around shooting, and just playing shell shocked.

Then the coup de grace: our MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had what could be one of the worst games of his career scoring 12 points on 5-12 shooting, and turning the ball over 4 times.

There could be a few reasons to explain Shai’s recent struggles. One could argue that while Shai hasn’t directly been effected by the “prison ball” initiative enacted by the refs post All-Star break, the lack of in-game stoppage, in general, can take some adjusting to.

Another one could be the flying knee Shai took to his quad from John Collins on March 20th, which has really affected him, as evidenced by the KT tape he’s been wearing on his right leg, despite not missing any time.

There is, however, another possible correlation to Shai’s less than stellar play. It’s been called random, it’s been called a reach, and it’s the very thing with the power to send Dorothy safely back to Kansas after her misadventures in Oz… Red shoes.

Hear me out, I know it’s an odd thing to point to. And, full disclosure, I’m not even sure why I thought of it in the first place. Yet way back in 2021 when Shai first donned the scarlet sneakers, I theorized this on twitter.

Since that tweet, any time Shai’s having a bad game, myself (and other members of Thunder twitter) immediately look down, only to be blinded, like Spanish bulls, by the rage of the red colored shoes. Sometimes, even before games, I’d get tagged in the warmup pictures showing that he has red shoes on. Like it’s an omen of what’s to come.

But that was just a 5 game sample size, in the tanking years, no less. Surely it can’t be that bad, right?

Wrong.

After DEEP research (I’m talking going back through every. Single. Game. Shai has played in since 2021 and looking at his shoes), I have come to find out that the data does in fact support my hypothesis.

And it’s honestly worse than I thought.

In 171 games played without red shoes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander puts up stats that have led to him being an All-NBA player and an MVP candidate: 29.7 points, 51% field goal, 34% three point, 87% free throw, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists vs 2.1 turnovers, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.

That’s the good. Strap yourself in, because here comes the bad. In the 22 games played in his red shoes, those numbers fall off of a cliff: 24.1 points, 46% field goal, 29% three point, 88% free throw (small victories), 5.7 rebounds (stacking wins), 4.5 assists vs 2.6 turnovers, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game.

Men lie, women lie, numbers do not, and neither do those cursed cherry cleats (had to for alliteration purposes).

These are the individual numbers. Unfortunately, they don’t tell the full story after all.

It gets worse.

When Shai doesn’t wear the red shoes, the Thunder are 91-79, with a win percentage of 53.5%.

When Shai does decide to put on the villainous vermillions… (no shoe words that start with “v”) shoes, the Thunder are 6-16, with a win percentage of 27.3%.

It’s still a small sample size in the grand scheme of it all, but honestly I AM GLAD. That means that 89% of the time, Shai makes the right choice and doesn’t even leave it up to chance.

It also happens to be what Shai was wearing the night the *only* buzzer beater has been hit on OKC in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander era.

You can tell me I’m reaching and I might be. You can say the shoes can’t be cursed, of which you’re probably right. But if I’m the equipment manger for the Oklahoma City Thunder and I see Shai bringing in shoes that have any remnants of ruby on them, why tempt the basketball gods? “Misplace” them immediately.

At the end of the day, the Thunder are a special team and Shai is a special player. In an era full of side pieces, side arms, and sideline out of bound wizards, if the most problematic thing about our franchise player is a shoe reverse Space Jam’s your talent, we should honestly count our blessing as fans, and be thankful that he represents our favorite team.

But seriously Shai, leave the red in Canada from now on, eh?

• Golden State Warriors (4-1) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-2)
• When: Friday, 03 November 2023 at 7:00pm CST
• Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• Offensive Rating – GS: 113.0 (10th) / OKC: 109.2 (15th)
• Defensive Rating – GS: 104.4 (4th) / OKC: 110.5 (16th)
• Net Rating – GS: 8.6 (5th) / OKC: -1.3 (18th)

The Set-Up

The mark of a dynasty isn’t just about championships. Sure, that plays a big role. But to me, a dynasty is one that doesn’t necessarily win 3 in a row and then flames out. But one that wins four championships in an eight year period. Five in an 11 year period. Because things are going to happen. You can’t be completely healthy for eight straight seasons. There are ebbs and flows. But teams like the Warriors and the 1996-2015 San Antonio Spurs always found ways to get back to the promised land.

We find ourselves back to square one with this Warriors team. The core is all a year older and have added Chris Paul to the mix. But the train just keeps moving along. Three-point shots, passes from Draymond Green, occasional solar flares from Klay Thompson, theatrics from Steph, and wins. It’s the same story, just a different season.

Injury Report

OKC

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (knee) – OUT

• Kenrich Williams (back) – OUT

• Jaylin Williams (hamstring) – QUESTIONABLE

GSW

• None

Three Big Things

1. Starting Line-Up – With SGA out, it’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod in his spot. Last season Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins were the players likely to start for SGA. But, with the impressive play by Cason Wallace to start the season, why not give the rook a shot? He’s been consistent offensively and may provide more defensively than any other candidate.

2. Mid-range – While the Warriors are revered for their 3-point shooting, the addition of Chris Paul has opened up their mid-range game. The Warriors lead the league in percentage of points from the mid-range (a full percentage point ahead of the Monsters of the Mid-Range aka Chicago). This turn their offense into a pick your poison monster and makes them that much more effective.

3. Who steps up? – Is this the game where we see Chet have his Wemby vs. the Suns moment? Or maybe Jalen Williams (J-Dub) has a huge game like he did a couple times last season in the absence of SGA. Or maybe it’s Giddey having the type of game that reminds the Warriors why they wanted to draft him with the 7th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

4. The Stakes – This is game number one of the in-season tournament. New Jerseys. New court. The atmosphere should be rocking.

Everything was chalk for the first three picks. Cade Cunningham. Jalen Green. Evan Mobley. Then things got weird. When the Toronto Raptors selected Scottie Barnes with the 4th pick, you could tell this was going to be a strange draft. Orlando HAD to select Jalen Suggs at that point. And they did. Which put Oklahoma City on the clock.

James Bouknight. It has to be James Bouknight, right? That’s all we’ve heard of the past 2-3 weeks. The Thunder had been monitoring Bouknight for two years now. They would’ve taken a long look at him in last year’s draft had he come out. The rumors were that Bouknight had an amazing workout in front of the Thunder and that the Thunder took him out to dinner while he was in OKC. I don’t know about you, but if someone wines and dines me, I might think things may be getting serious. Alas, the words “With the 6th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder select…James Bouknight out of UCONN,” were never uttered.

Instead, it was Josh Giddey, a 6’9″ point guard out of the Adelaide 36ers (Terrance Ferguson’s old stomping grounds) in Australia. No one had this pick on their radar, except for fellow Australian Leigh Ellis a couple of hours before the draft (insider information, mate). When the pick was first made, the initial reaction was one of shock and wonderment. “What the hell are the Thunder doing?” “This has to be a part of a bigger deal. Maybe the Grizzlies are looking to get Giddey. Maybe the Warriors will part with 7 & 14 for Giddey. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.”

As the minutes marched on and the tweets from the Thunder came out, it became very apparent that Giddey was the Thunder’s guy all along. Thunder GM Sam Presti said about Giddey, “He’s a really good basketball player at his size. At his position, he makes others better and the team better overall. We feel like he’s a really good match for us. His love of cognition in the game is at a very high level.”

At 16, the Thunder had the opportunity to add another good, young player to their rotation. But when Houston came calling with an offer of 2 future first round picks, the offer was just too good for the Thunder to pass up. Presti said, “It’s very unusual to be offered two future firsts for a pick that far out. It was way above the line of valuation for that pick and we’d likely make that deal again if the opportunity presented itself in the future.” The two picks the Thunder acquired from the Rockets were a heavily protected 2022 first from Detroit and another heavily protected 2023 first from Washington.

At 18, the Thunder selected guard Tre Mann out of Florida. Known as a play-making wing, Mann averaged 16 points, 5.6 boards, and 3.5 assists while shooting 40% from beyond the arc. Presti said, “We really liked Mann and hoped that he’d be there at 18.”

Heading into the 2nd round of the draft, the Thunder had picks 34, 36, and 55. They immediately packaged 34 and 36 to New York to move up to 32. With that pick, Oklahoma City selected Villanova forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. The 6’9″, 230 pound Robinson-Earl spent two season at ‘Nova and averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds. Presti said he packaged 34 and 36 because he didn’t think Robinson-Earl would last until pick 34.

With their final pick of the evening, the Thunder selected Maryland forward Aaron Wiggins at 55. The 6’6″ wing averaged 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds last season. He was the 2019-20 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

In the end, what was thought to be a draft where the Thunder could move up in, turned out to be one where they stayed put for the most part and got the players they were targeting all along. In his post-draft press conference, Presti finished the long evening with the following quote, “For us, we’re looking to not only see who is the best player, but also who is the bet player for our program. A draft is not a singular event. Team building is very layered and takes a long time. It’s a really evolving thing.”