Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a bad man

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off to the races so far this season. He’s putting up 28.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.3 steals a game with just 2.6 turnovers and is a key reason behind the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 5-3 start. His latest masterpiece came at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he torched them for 43 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block while shooting 15 of 22 from the field.

At 6’6, he’s a huge lead guard that matches up well with basically every opponent that has to defend him on any given night. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, he’s now also got a great supporting cast with the likes of Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and more ready to back him up.

While it’s still early in their careers, the trio of SGA, Giddey and Holmgren could bring on another golden age for the Thunder – one that may eventually remind everyone of the time they had future Hall of Famers Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

WTF was that technical foul on Giannis?

Giannis Antetokounmpo got ejected against the Detroit Pistons in a bizarre sequence that really makes you question what goes through a referee’s head sometimes. Antetokounmpo basically got kicked out of the game for celebrating a dunk, something he does on a nightly basis.

Inconsistent refereeing continues to be a hot topic in the NBA and examples like this will only fuel the conspiracy theorists. I’m not a fan of refs on my best day, but this was really ridiculous.

Uh, the Rockets might actually be good.

The Houston Rockets have won four-straight games to overcome their 0-3 start to the season, and they’re doing it in dominant fashion. Their first victory in the streak was a 128-119 win against the Charlotte Hornets, but they followed that up by beating the shit out of the Sacramento Kings twice and then beating the LA Lakers by 34 points.

It’s going to be bad news for the league if they continue playing the way they are now, especially since Dillon Brooks is guaranteed to talk shit on a nightly basis.

Their young talent is shining as well. Jalen Green is leading the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game, while Alperen Sengun is continuing to show his multi-faceted skillset while averaging 18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. Fred VanVleet is also putting up a solid 14.7 points and 8.4 assists per game, not quite worthy of the fat contract that he got, but the Rockets aren’t going to care if they keep winning.

Houston could come back down to earth soon, but man, they look like they might be a handful for everyone this season. 

The James Harden era hasn’t started out very well in LA

The LA Clippers aren’t getting the start that they wanted after the James Harden trade. They’re now 0-2 since The Beard joined the team, having lost 111-97 to the New York Knicks and 100-93 to the Brooklyn Nets. 

Harden is clearly rusty, averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 turnovers in 33.7 minutes per game and currently has a plus/minus of -16.5.

The Clippers, who may now be the most top-heavy team in NBA history, must navigate the season hoping that Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all stay healthy. They’re a force to be reckoned with in NBA 2K, but real-world results may vary.