Spurs Look to Slow Down Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Amid MVP-Like Season

The San Antonio Spurs have the tall task of stopping one of the NBA's hottest players on Wednesday.

Unconventional, oftentimes unorthodox, but oh so smooth.

These are a few ways to describe Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who the San Antonio Spurs will need to come up with answers for when they travel to face OKC at Paycom Center Wednesday night.

The Spurs (6-15) are on an eight-game losing streak and could finally snag a win against a Thunder squad (8-13) that is on a similar rebuilding path. But the star power of Gilgeous-Alexander, who is often known simply as SGA, will present the tallest task for the reeling Spurs.

Gilgeous-Alexander is fixing to run away with the Most Improved Player Award and could receive a few MVP votes if he keeps up his current play. SGA is averaging an impressive 31 points per game this season, good for third in the league behind only Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (33.1) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (31.4). He also leads the Thunder in assists (6.1) and steals (1.7).

While shooting an impressive 50.6 percent from the field despite his usage, SGA has failed to reach the 30-point mark just five times this season, a true testament of his heavy, yet efficient offensive responsibility.

The Spurs will be tasked with limiting an All-Star caliber player that can score in a handful of ways for his team while simultaneously being its primary ball-handler, distributor and arguably most skilled on-ball defender. It doesn't get much tougher than that for San Antonio.

Spurs guard Tre Jones comes to mind as a player capable of making Gilgeous-Alexander uncomfortable due to his peskiness, but Jones' smaller frame won't be able to keep up with the 6-6 height of SGA, who can use his long wingspan to create a shot despite an unorthodox release.

This would leave Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson as strong options to slow SGA down. San Antonio rookie Jeremy Sochan would be the obvious candidate due to his high motor, length and quick feet, but his status for Wednesday's game remains in doubt as he deals with a quad injury.

But before the Spurs worry about individual assignments, they'll need to worry about team defense against a Thunder team that is clicking on offense due to the efforts of SGA and dynamic play-making guard Josh Giddey. Oklahoma City is averaging the sixth-most points per game (115.9) on a league-high 94.9 field-goal attempts per game.

And this all starts with the aggressive, yet patient offensive approach from Gilgeous-Alexander. The Spurs will hope they can limit him as much as possible, as shutting him down completely is hardly a possibility.

San Antonio and OKC tip-off at 7 p.m. CT.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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