Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Playing Back-To-Backs ‘More On The Table Now’

The Oklahoma City Thunder won a big game on Tuesday over the LA Clippers. That win pushed the Thunder to .500 on the season and into seventh place in the Western Conference. That success has the team rethinking their plans for their star player’s schedule for the remainder of the season.

Oklahoma City previously said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was unlikely to play in both ends of back-to-back sets for the remainder of the season. Now, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said it’s something the team will consider moving forward.

“Because of how he’s responded, the back-to-backs are more on the table now than they’ve been,” Daigneault said when asked about Gilgeous-Alexander’s abdominal strain.

Oklahoma City has two remaining back-to-back sets. That includes this Thursday and Friday with pivotal postseason positioning matchups against the Clippers again and then the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder also play the struggling Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons in a back-to-back next week.

While Daigneault wouldn’t commit to Gilgeous-Alexander playing both ends of the back-to-back later this week, it appears it’s on the table.

“We didn’t know when we put this plan in place how he was gonna respond, and based on how we’ve managed it and how he’s managed it, he’s responded well, especially right after games, which is most important for back-to-backs,” Daigneault said. “We’re open-minded to it, but we haven’t played one yet.” 

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March 22, 2023 | 9:18 am