How do you stop a player who’s already proven the best defensive schemes don’t matter?
That’s the question haunting Golden State as they prepare for another collision with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 20-1 Thunder. The November 11th tape tells an uncomfortable truth: twenty-eight points on 9-of-19 shooting, eleven assists, three triples, and a casual 126-102 dismantling that felt less competitive than the score suggests.
Here’s the brutal reality the Warriors are facing: There’s not really stopping the reigning MVP apparently. He’s arrived.
[Chris Finch said the quiet part loud](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/news/timberwolves-coach-chris-finch-explains-why-facing-shai-gilgeous-alexander-thunder-so-frustrating/7b53a2be10d97da8e6010981#:~:text=After%20the%20game%2C%20Timberwolves%20coach,some%20competition%20come%20playoff%20time.) when he admitted you can’t really touch SGA without sending him to the free-throw line. SGA is shooting 42.3% from three this season while maintaining his mid-range mastery and drawing fouls at an elite rate. He’s weaponized every zone of the floor. You sell out to stop the drive, he rises for the pull-up. You go under screens, he drains the three. You crowd his space, he’s at the line converting at 86% for his career. Pick your poison, then watch him administer all three anyway.
The playmaking makes it worse. Those eleven assists in November weren’t charity stats. They were evidence of complete offensive control. When defenses load up to contain the scorer, the distributor emerges. When they respect the facilitator, the assassin takes over. It’s a maddening loop with no escape hatch, and it’s why SGA just tied Wilt Chamberlain’s 92-game streak of scoring twenty-plus points. Only Wilt himself has ever done it longer. THAT’S PRETTY DAMN LEGENDARY.
Golden State’s only path forward requires flawless defensive rotations, Draymond Green playing swarming in coverage at an All-Defense level, and Jonathan Kuminga switching on the perimeter without fouling. It means Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody navigating screens without getting hunted. It means Trayce Jackson-Davis protecting the rim without biting on pump fakes. It means Jimmy Butler is going to activate Clamp Mode. It means perfect execution for forty-eight minutes against the reigning defending champions on a 2016 Warriors like heater right now.
The Warriors are 11-10, fighting to stay above .500 in a conference that increasingly belongs to Oklahoma City. With Curry injured, this isn’t the dynasty reclaiming its throne. This is a veteran squad trying to extend relevance against a juggernaut built for a decade-long run. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t giving you anything. You’ll have to take it. And based on the start so far, that’s asking one hell of a lot from a team still trying to figure out who they are.
That’s why I can’t wait to see if they can do it Tuesday.
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