The second MVP! Alexander, how can he surpass Jokic?

In the regular season, the Thunder defeated the Hornets 109-96 away from home.

In this game, Thunder star Alexander once again performed well. He played only three quarters and 29 minutes. He made 13 of 19 shots, 3 of 4 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws. He scored 33 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Although the opponent was the Hornets, who were last in the Eastern Conference, the Thunder still played very hard at halftime. The point difference never exceeded 5 points. At the end of the first half, the Thunder only led the opponent by 3 points, 55-52. Alex Shandong University has already scored 18 points;

The third quarter became a turning point. The Thunder went up 18-6 in this quarter and finally beat the Hornets 32-18. Alexander made 6 of 7 in a single quarter and scored 15 points. One person scored quickly to catch up with the entire Hornets team.

It should be noted that Alexander's on-field plus-minus value reached +21. In other words, in less than 20 minutes when he was not on the court, the Thunder lost a net loss of 8 points to the Hornets.

30+ points in a single game is not uncommon for Alexander, but the meaning of this game is a little different: after scoring 33 points in this game, Alexander's 30+ times in Thunder career have reached 190 times, surpassing Westbrook (189 times) and rising to second place in team history. The first in team history is Durant (246 times). It is only a matter of time before he surpasses Durant in the future (it may be achieved this season if it is fast).

It is worth mentioning that this season is only Alexander's seventh season with the Thunder. Westbrook has played in the Thunder for 11 years, and Durant has played for 9 years. It is enough to see how stable Alexander's scoring is.

Alexander already achieved the Grand Slam of MVP+scoring champion+championship last season. So far this season, his performance is still at this level.

So far, Alexander has scored 30+ points in 12 of the 14 games he has played, averaging 32.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, ranking second in the league in scoring.

And Alexander's efficiency is also very good, with three shooting percentages of 53.1%/37.3%/89.7% and a true shooting percentage of 65.2% (63.7% last season).

Under the leadership of Alexander, the Thunder started this season with the best record in team history of 13 wins and 1 loss (last season started with 11 wins and 4 losses). Considering that Jay Wei has not played a game so far, this leadership performance cannot be underestimated.

One more thing, this year's Thunder are really strong. They currently average 15.4 points better than their opponents per game, ranking first in the league. Their offensive efficiency is 118.2, fifth in the league, and their defensive efficiency is 102.8, ranking first in the league.

The Thunder already achieved an excellent record of 68 wins and 14 losses last season. If it can continue this season, it may be expected to become another 70-win team after the 96 Bulls and 16 Warriors.

Back to Alexander, as we said, he is still at the MVP level this season, but objectively speaking, it is not easy to win the MVP again. The main reason is that his competitors are also very good, especially Jokic.

It goes without saying how strong Jokic is. He almost averages a triple-double of 29+13+11 per game, with a true shooting percentage of over 76%. Moreover, the Nuggets are currently 10 wins and 2 losses, and they are not far behind the Thunder.

Personally, if Alexander wants to win the MVP again, he needs to:

1. Maintain stable and efficient data, and the average score should preferably be close to or reach 35 points, which is a continuous improvement from last season;

2. Lead the team to 70 wins, which will continue to improve from last season;

3. A positive dialogue with Jokic in the future If you can gain an advantage, you may not necessarily win with data (few can beat Jokic), but you must at least defeat your opponent head-on;

4. Don't be too lazy at the end of the season. Compared with the performance at the beginning of the season, the performance at the end of the season is often more impressive;

5. More personal highlights, 30+ is not enough, and 40+ is not enough. If you can get 50+ in a few more games, it should be more sensational.

Just like last season, this season's MVP battle will definitely be another magical fight. I look forward to Alexander and Jokic bringing more crazy performances. It would be better if they can face off again in the playoffs. Let's continue to witness it.