The Thunder have been miles ahead of every Western Conference team this season. The closest are the Grizzlies and Nuggets, both nine wins behind them. That’s why many have predicted the OKC franchise to win it all. But their momentum took a massive hit on Monday as they suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Timberwolves in overtime after blowing a 25-point lead at home. And Chris Finch’s incredible coaching against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. has put the Thunder on high alert, potentially paving way for nineteen other teams to beat them.

Well, Shai has been in incredible form this season, averaging 32.4 points and over six assists. While he continues to make his case for MVP, many have accused him of being a “Free Throw merchant” because of how frequently he gets to the line. As of now, he is averaging 8.9 free throw attempts per game. Sure enough, Finch has been pretty vocal about SGA’s foul baiting tactics, as he even said after Monday’s win, “It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton. You know they really do. They foul all the time and then you know, you can’t really touch Shai.”

But Anthony Edwards’ coach somehow found a way to overcome that challenge and beat West’s top seeded team. He addressed the difficulty of beating the Thunder on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

“They’re very physical defense. I mean, they’ve done a great job building their defense there. They swarm you and there is an adage when you’re playing defense like ‘Hey, if we’re physical and we’re fouling all over the place, they’re not gonna be able to call them all.’… And when you have a player on the other end, Shai who’s so crafty and so hard to guard. He’s able to slow the game down in a way where everything’s focused on him. So, all the contact is kinda accentuated,” Finch explained.

Furthermore, Finch acknowledged that a team requires a certain level of mental toughness to beat the Thunder and not fall in their foul trap: “It is a very tough mental trap that you have to fight through with your players because you wanna be able to match physicality when the game is physical. And you can’t do it around a player like Shai because he’s so crafty.”

Well, Chris Finch and Co. executed the strategy perfectly on Monday. Even though Shai got to the charity stripe seventeen times and scored fourteen of his points from free throws, the Wolves did not give the officials a chance to call a foul during the final seconds. Ant-Man got a clean block on SGA during his potential game winning layup and he also guarded him brilliantly on the game tying three-point attempt.

Surely, this strategy will come in handy for the nineteen teams who are yet to face the Thunder in the remaining regular season games. Meanwhile, Shai remains unbothered by the criticism of his controversial playing style.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander responds to ‘Free Throw Merchant’ Calls: “Don’t Really Care!”

While Finch and many other critics have openly called out Shai, he is unlikely to change his style anytime soon. Addressing the foul baiting accusations, he said last month, “I think naturally, I am going to get fouled on drives. Usually, you get fouled on drives more than jump shots, so that’s just like a natural part of the game. And then I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade along my way. And I’ve turned it into a skill a little bit.”

Well, getting to the free throw line is part of the game. Even though opposing teams don’t like it, Shai has mastered that skill and is using it to his advantage on a nightly basis. So, the accusations do not bother him, “As far as what people say, I don’t really care. As long as it’s efficient offense and my team wins, I’ll get it done.”

His strategy is clearly effective as the Thunder have the best record in the West. Moreover, Shai is leading the league in scoring. So, teams need to find a way to dissect his playing style like the Timberwolves did for a chance at beating them in the upcoming regular season games or in the playoffs. Which team do you think can overcome this challenge?