“I’ve played with a lot of Hall of Famers… but 10 years from now, I’ll say I covered an all-time great in SGA. He’s already one of the greatest scorers ever to touch the basketball,” said Kendrick Perkins recently. Many players within the Oklahoma City Thunder squad can be credited for taking the team to the NBA Finals, but none of their contribution comes close to the level of the Canadian. His offensive prowess, without a doubt, has made him the face of the franchise. When the faces of the franchise falter during games, people notice. Therefore, in the aftermath of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Draymond Green had some advice to give out.

The Warriors’ power forward released an episode of ‘The Draymond Green Show’ immediately after the recent game. With former NBA players Baron Davis as co-host and Metta World Peace as guest host, Green touched base on Shai’s recent performance. He revealed how, on his team, Stephen Curry is the one who often has to be ‘the guy’. The one who does everything to carry the team forward during a game. Green considers Shai to be the Steph Curry of the Thunder. This is why, after the recent game, Green made it clear that “Shai got to be more aggressive”. If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was worried that the media would once again take a shot at how he was making his points, Green had some warning to give his peer about it.

“And so what I would say is, to Shai, don’t fall into the trap of the world because the media around the NBA finals is bigger than any NBA game media in the history,” said Green. “Don’t fall into the trap of what the world is saying of like ‘Yo, he’s shooting too much. He foul too much. He bait….’ F–k that.”

By now, anyone who had been following Shai’s progression over the last few months would have been well acquainted with the ‘free-throw merchant’ tag. ESPN’s Doris Burke certainly made it unforgettable by reminding fans about it when doing commentary during the OKC-Timberwolves playoff series. The tag came to be used by fans and sportscasters amidst the belief that Shai’s dominance had more to do with his ability to draw fouls through his defensive tactics. Not so much from the ability to create, shoot, and/or finish at the rim. The usage of the tag was fueled by the fact that the Thunder star ranked 2nd in leading the league this tournament in free throw attempts, with 669.

Now, Green wants him to ignore all this because letting your performance be affected by the media should not be the thing to do during an NBA Finals series.

“I don’t…. When I watch that game tonight, I’m like ‘When’s Shai going to come? When’s he going to…. when is Shai going to do what we know Shai to do?’” said Green. “And as someone who’s been in these situations, don’t get it twisted. You can hear somebody say, ‘Shai shooting too much is going to hurt them,’ and try to lessen it a little bit. This is human nature. And when I watched that game tonight, I never felt like Shai said, ‘I’m taking over this game, I’mma win this game’ and do that.”

Being afraid of what the media will say about you is certainly not a good enough reason to not dominate in the recent game. There is more to the story, and Tyrese Haliburton was willing to reveal what it was.

Tyrese Haliburton explained how the Pacers limited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring: “Make it as tough as you can.”

If this were the first NBA game you had seen, then you would have thought that the 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded were quite impressive. Unfortunately, those points were a downfall from the 34 and 38 points he had recorded in the previous 2 games. Down from the 31.4 points and the 29.7 points he had averaged against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets, respectively. The lead scorer of the team only shoots 9-20 (45.0%) field goals, 1-3 (33.3%) 3-pointers, and 5-6 (83.3%) free throws during an NBA Finals game, which is not the way to go. However, if one were to ask Tyrese Haliburton, then this lapse was less about Shai’s offensive prowess and more about the Pacers’ defense.

During a postgame interview with ESPN, Haliburton discussed Shai by saying, “You just have to try and make it as tough as you can. He’s such a tough cover. [We were] trying to show him multiple bodies, try to show help and try to do the best we can.”

NBA writer Shaun Powell credited Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard for utilizing a different strategy to prevent Shai from becoming a one-man demolition. Not only did the player score less than expected, but he also had 6 turnovers under his name! This was where the player drew the line to be more cautious, and not just because he was afraid of what the media would say.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cautioned his team against the Pacers by stating, “They were aggressive. They were high in the pick-and-rolls. They were more aggressive, more forceful. … We’ve got to apply that pressure back, especially if you want to beat a team like that on the road.” He also added that it “Starts with me.” Whether the recent loss motivates them enough to push harder in Game 4 is something that remains to be seen.