Stiles Points: Josh Giddey Could Be in Store for a Big Game vs Dallas Mavericks
With the Oklahoma City Thunder (35-16) taking on the Dallas Mavericks (29-23), it could be a big game for third-year guard Josh Giddey. Despite the former sixth overall pick struggling the majority of this season, he has still shown flashes of why he was worth a top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Most recently, against the Toronto Raptors, Giddey turned in a 24-point, six-rebound, and six-assist performance. In the double overtime win over the Raptors, Giddey shot 60 percent from the floor, went 2-for-6 from 3-point land, and converted a massive and-one to ice the game on his way to a 4-for-4 performance at the charity stripe.
The common thread between these flashes for Giddey has been the lack of a high-end rim protector. This allows Giddey to use the space defenses give him well, attacking his way to the rim and scoring inside the arc, which allowed him to be effective offensively. When Giddey is able to get to the rim, it enhances not only his scoring but also his passing ability, as he is no longer cast to an island beyond the arc in the hope of hitting a triple.
Where Giddey has struggled is against a team with elite shot blockers who can swallow up his drives, make life harder on his teammates, and are not threatened by the off chance he catches fire from 3-point land.
On Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks, the 21-year-old could be in store for another big game. Dallas takes a massive hit in the paint with the Mavericks ruling Dereck Lively II as out for this game (nose).
Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber offer little to no resistance down low, and while Daniel Gatford and PJ Washington will help, they should not be enough to take Giddey away completely.
This could lead to an improved scoring game from the Australian guard and allow the Thunder offense to click in a contest that could be a shootout in a Saturday Matinee.
Stiles Points
- Isaiah Joe is active this afternoon against the Dallas Mavericks, which gives the Thunder a massive boost. After missing the last four games, Joe allows the Thunder to play with their best rotation. His red-hot shooting ability could be a premium to match Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder will only have 14 active players in this game with Keyontae Johnson (G League) and Gordon Hayward (calf) out, as well as the two open roster spots (one two-way, one standard), monitoring how Mark Daigneault puts together a rotation against Dallas will be interesting. While Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic were not eating up a ton of minutes, the bench lineups could be slightly tweaked.
- Oklahoma City plays nothing but memorable games in Dallas, most recently letting up a 30-0 Mavs run before still holding on for a thrilling win against the Mavericks.
- How did Jalen Williams spend his off day? Much like you or I, he slept. However, the lack of TikTok content was only a tad disappointing. It begs the question: Should Nick Crain and I pick up the slack and make TikToks in Dallas today?
- Former Thunder first-round pick Darius Bazley continues to dominate the NBA G League with the Delaware Blue Coats. Bazley has the defending G League champions atop the Eastern Conference after a 125-123 win against the Austin Spurs. Bazley dropped 39 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. The former New Balance Intern will be in Indianapolis for the NBA G League Next Up game at All-Star Weekend...I always knew Bazley would appear at NBA All-Star Weekend.
- Being in Dallas today, I will undoubtedly see the hats that flaunt an upside-down written out Dallas across them. To which, it will be hard to constantly bite my tongue, not asking the obvious question of "why?" How did it become cool to write the name of something you are likely proud of upside down?
Song of the Day: Fantastic Voyage by Lakeside
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