WATCH: Timeline on Giddey's Injury
Since the Thunder have been riddled with injuries it was only fitting that Coach Daigneault began today by providing an injury update.
Aaron Wiggins did practice with the team and they will continue to monitor his comfortability.
Josh Giddey, who has been out due to hip soreness, has been healing although still not ready to return to practice. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
As the season is winding down and there is only 19 games left, it’s difficult to be optimistic about Giddey’s return.
The Thunder have been strategizing for Giddey and star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to play off each other all season. Gilgeous-Alexander missed 10 games die to a right ankle sprain leading up to the All-Star break.
Then one game after his return, Giddey became unavailable. Needless to say things have not gone according to plan for OKC down the stretch.
“I’m not frustrated. It's just you know, where we where we are right now we get to flow from there, Coach Daigneault said. “All the guys that are hurt right now they can come back better if they choose to let leverage these circumstances.”
Coming back from his injury better, faster, stronger has been Gilgeous-Alexander. In his last five games, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 33 points per game on a 59.6 percent clip from the field.
Coach Daigneault said,“Shai did miss a lot of time, and clearly has been on a rampage since he's been back. So clearly, you know, whether it be physically or whether it be mentally or a combination of both…”
“…he got himself to some place coming out of that all star break where he's put himself in position to play the way he has, not only because of the numbers, which are obviously gaudy, but like the, the style he's played, and then the efficiency with which he's played has been you know, obviously very impressive.”
Another player that’s stepped up for the Thunder has been Aleksej Pokusevski. By getting more minutes he has been spacing the floor more, moving quicker on defense, and making strong offensive plays.
Pokusevski has averaged 11 points and seven rebounds in his last six games.
“I think the cumulative effect of his minutes and experiences is starting to add up in a lot of different ways,” Coach Daigneault said.
“So he's kind of earlier to things he's things are looking more familiar to him and it allows him to be a little more assertive and aggressive and think less and you know, all those, you know, positive effects of anticipation.“
The Thunder will face Utah tomorrow in Paycom center at 6pm.
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