Two young MVP finalists will square off when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and No. 1 seed Oklahoma City face Luka Doncic and No. 5 seed Dallas in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Doncic led the league in scoring this season at 33.9 points per game. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound guard averaged 29.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists in six first-round games against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jalen Williams and rookie Cason Wallace also likely will get some of the work guarding Doncic. Rookie Chet Holmgren, a 7-1 center, will be waiting to help. Those players helped the Thunder finish the season fourth in the league in defensive rating and third in opponent field goal percentage. “He’s one of the best young players in this league and so he puts a lot of pressure on your defense,” Kidd said. “Everyone’s going to get a chance to guard him.”
Oklahoma City counters with Williams. The second-year forward averaged 21.3 points on 52.9% shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the first round.Holmgren, a finalist for Rookie of the Year, finished fifth in the league with 2.3 blocks per game.
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