Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t getting too wrapped up in his team’s undefeated start.
“There’s still 76 games left,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re not even close to what we need to be to accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is obviously winning big. So yeah, it’s cool. We’re not satisfied at all.”
Off to a 6-0 start for the first time since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder will look to keep rolling on Monday night against the visiting Orlando Magic.
Oklahoma City is in the middle of the NBA in offensive rating, averaging 112.5 points per 100 possessions after ranking third last season.
But the Thunder are leading the NBA in defensive rating by a significant margin, allowing 95.1 points per 100 possessions. No other team in the league is allowing less than 101 entering Monday’s slate.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 26.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals in six games this season.
The biggest change for him has been his willingness to shoot from the perimeter. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 7.2 three-point attempts, twice what he averaged last season.
Oklahoma City has won by an average of 17.7 points per game, with no game closer than a dozen points.
The Thunder are coming off a 105-92 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Monday’s game will start a stretch in which Oklahoma City plays seven of its next eight games at home.
While the Thunder are hot, the Magic are struggling since the loss of Paolo Banchero, the top overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft — one spot ahead of Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren.
Banchero sustained a torn right oblique in Wednesday’s loss to Chicago. He’ll be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
Orlando saw its losing streak extend to three games with a 108-85 setback to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
The Magic are 0-1 this season on the second night of a back-to-back, and Monday’s game will be the fourth in a five-game trip for Orlando.
Without Banchero, second-year forward Jett Howard’s role has expanded. Howard played a career-high 22 minutes in Sunday’s loss.
“Jett played with a high level of energy,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He got his shot whenever he needed to … but we gotta sit down and guard and play defense the right way.”
The Magic could figure to be without Wendell Carter Jr., who missed Friday’s loss at Cleveland with right knee tendinitis before starting against the Mavericks.
But after less than nine minutes on the floor, Carter left the game in the second quarter. He was emotional on the bench after suffering a plantar fascia strain on his left foot.
Another Magic center, Goga Bitadze, has missed the last four games with a left foot tendon strain.
Monday’s game will be the first of two meetings this season between the Thunder and Magic. Oklahoma City swept their meetings last season. The Magic haven’t won in Oklahoma City since early in the 2020-21 season.
–Field Level Media
