OKC Thunder: Josh Giddey Finding Comfortability in Off-Ball Role
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It’s been no easy year for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey.
There’s been on and off-court distractions, all of which have seemed to affect his play. And a new role with the emergence of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and even the new and improved Lu Dort in the starting lineup has relegated him to an off-ball role.
Finally, though, Giddey has begun to find some comfortability and consistency in his latest stretch of games.
In the past four contests, he’s not only seen markedly better stats, he’s visibly looked more clear-headed, posting an average of a +9 plus-minus. In that stretch, he’s scored 14.8 points, grabbed 7.5 boards, dished 5.3 assists and even nabbed 1.0 steals per game while shooting 60% overall and 36% from beyond the arc.
After a pair of seasons handling the ball — dazzling with a combination of size and handle, as well as innate passing chops — Giddey's been forced to succeed without the ball in-hand as much. His usage rate hasn't fallen drastically, but teams have been keen to defend him with centers, sagging off and making him hit jumpers.
That adjustment has been a tough one to work through, but Giddey's finally seeing some results.
His game against Portland was one of the better of his season. He poured on 19 points, missing just one field goal while adding seven assists, and six rebounds. Five turnovers marred the performance slightly, but a +17 plus-minus showed his impact.
And it wasn't just his best scoring night on-paper — the tape shows he was getting those points exactly how he should be within OKC's core: running in transition, cutting, taking advantage of matchups in the pick-and-roll and spotting up in moderation.
Giddey certainly isn't out of the woods just yet. As head coach Mark Daigneault alluded to in Sunday's postgame presser, there will be more dips following his current high. But even a sliver of success could be massive for Giddey and Oklahoma City moving forward.
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