Charles Barkley isn’t precisely well-known for getting his predictions proper, however on Wednesday, because the OKC Thunder obliterated the Denver Nuggets in Sport 2 of their Western Convention semifinal matchup, he made his name, selecting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Nikola Jokic.
With SGA main the cost, the Thunder raced to an 87-56 halftime lead — essentially the most factors ever scored in a half in NBA playoff historical past — behind his 18 factors and 7 assists by way of the primary 24 minutes.
In the course of the “Contained in the NBA” halftime present, Barkley declared Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his MVP.
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“This man proper right here is the MVP,” he stated. “We will already ship it to him. We’re gonna see him within the WCF when he get his MVP trophy. I feel that workforce gonna win the championship.”
In ESPN’s MVP straw ballot, which replicates the precise voting course of, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerged because the best choice within the ultimate iteration, incomes 77 first-place votes and 23 second-place votes for 931 factors. Jokic collected all of the remaining high and second-place nods, coming in second with 769 factors.
The 2 are actually clashing head-to-head on this playoff collection.
Jokic exploded in Sport 1 with a jaw-dropping 42 factors and 22 rebounds, lifting Denver to a 121-119 win capped by an Aaron Gordon game-winning triple.
However in Sport 2, it was SGA’s flip, dropping 34 factors and eight assists, and recording a historic plus-51 score — the very best ever in a playoff sport — in simply three quarters as OKC cruised to a 149-106 blowout.
Gamers pulling for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win MVP, says James Harden
In April, NBA insider Rachel Nichols stated she spoke with James Harden, who revealed that whereas gamers acknowledge Nikola Jokic as one of the best participant, they’re rallying behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP.
Talking on the “Open Ground” podcast, Nichols stated:
“I talked to James Harden for a little bit bit this morning earlier than the Clippers left for Denver, and I stated, who’s one of the best participant? And he stated, ‘Properly, no query, Jokic is one of the best participant.’ However even he stated, ‘All of the gamers, we wish to see Shai win MVP due to the season he had and the profitable.’
“And I feel that basically components in for them greater than perhaps some folks on the skin are simply taking a look at stats, stats, stats, stats, stats, see it, however he goes, however in fact, Jokic is one of the best participant.”
There’s nonetheless no phrase on when the MVP shall be revealed, nevertheless it’s attainable the announcement might come throughout this high-stakes showdown between Jokic’s Nuggets and SGA’s Thunder.
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Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro