THE TAKE
Wow, Thunder covered 15.5, winning by 18 even though by SGA's back-to-back MVP standards, he had a bad game (only 18, 7 turnovers). Yet OKC held LA to 90 in large part because OU-ex Austin Reaves shot 3-16 and 0-5 with 4 turnovers. SGA and AR will both play much better in G2.
BOLDNESS
15/100
GRADE
62/100
PLAYERS / TEAMS
SGAAustin Reaves
GRADING CRITERIA
TRUE if SGA scores more than 18 points and/or has fewer than 7 turnovers in Game 2, AND Austin Reaves shoots better than 3-16 from the field and better than 0-5 from three in Game 2. Both must improve statistically for the take to be fully TRUE; partial improvement could count as partial credit.
recency bias
OUTCOME
PARTIALLY TRUEAustin Reaves absolutely bounced back in Game 2, scoring 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting (up from 3-for-16 in Game 1), though he still committed 5 turnovers. SGA improved modestly from 18 points in Game 1 to 22 points in Game 2, but he was limited to 28 minutes due to foul trouble and the improvement was less dramatic — his numbers were held down by the Lakers' defensive scheme and his fourth foul 86 seconds into the second half. The prediction was half right: Reaves was a clear bounceback story, but SGA's Game 2 was still below his MVP standards (22 pts, foul-limited) rather than a notably improved performance.