SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Chris Paul was sick of answering questions about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive production three weeks into the season.
“Everybody’s always talking about offense, offense, offense,” Paul said last month, “but the biggest thing I’m talking to him about is defense. Sometimes people forget that’s a part of the game, too. Every question has been about his offensive efficiency, but when you really get competitive in this league, you play defense, too. So, that’s one of the things I try to talk to him about the most.”
Even before Paul and Gilgeous-Alexander stepped on a court together, people inside and outside of the Thunder organization predicted that Paul, 34, would be a good influence on Gilgeous-Alexander, 21.