Stiles Points: Josh Giddey Might Force OKC Thunder To Pivot Later In Series

The Oklahoma City Thunder might need to alter their rotations against the Dallas Mavericks as Josh Giddey is put in a difficult position for his skill set.

May 9, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) drives to the / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Styles make fights in the postseason, where matchups tell the story. Through two games of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s  playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, their Red River Foe has landed a haymaker. 

Just as the Mavericks did in the regular season, they found success relegating Josh Giddey to an outside shooting role and cramping Oklahoma City’s offensive flow.

With the streaky shooting of the former No. 6 pick, these are results you live with for the sake of providing additional attention for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Defensively, Giddey then has to pitch a near perfect game to render himself viable against Dallas to make up for the bind the Mavericks put him in offensively. A loose rotation here or miscommunication there really compound the problem. 

All of this has led to Giddey logging just 10 minutes in Game 2 where he was an unbelievable -20 in that stint. As Oklahoma City falls 119-110 to level the series, the third year guard has drawn a lot of criticism. 

With a pivotal Game 3 on deck Saturday how Giddey responds will be key. In a seven-game series against a formidable opponent, there has to be a sense of urgency to make adjustments. Especially when others in Giddey’s role have proven to be more successful. 

However, Giddey’s offensive game was a bit shaky in the first two games of the last series before ripping the cords of the Smoothie King Center in Games 3 and 4 to close out the Pelicans sweep. 

Though, there’s less optimism about that success happening away from Bourbon Street based on how the Mavericks have defended - or lack there of - Giddey all season long. 

While expecting things to be business as usual to start Saturday Afternoon’s tilt - as Giddey returns to the building that gave him the lowest point of his basketball career - the pressure is on for the young guard to produce or else Oklahoma City will be forced to pivot. 

This is shaping up to be a difficult series for Giddey to find his footing in.

Stiles Points:

• PJ Washington and Tim Hardaway Jr. had jaw-dropping games on Thursday which featured a career-high for Washington and an anomaly from Hardaway Jr. who has struggled throughout the season.
• Luka Doncic certainly appeared to be back to normal against Oklahoma City on Thursday as his knee might end up benefiting from the pace of this series instead of the long overlays tightening the injury up again. Doncic hit multiple tough shots in this contest while stuffing the stat sheet.
• The Thunder suffered their first playoff loss of this postseason run - dropping their first game since April 5 against Indiana and their first loss with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup since March 24 against the Bucks.
• Oklahoma City will need to come out more polished on Saturday, as missing quality looks and defensive lapses doomed them on Thursday. As Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each discussed lacking focus at times in this game, the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA turned in a lowly 33 percent from beyond the arc, something sure to change.

Song of the Day: Memories by Elvis Presley.

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