OKC Thunder: Josh Giddey's Focus on Playmaking Paying Dividends
Josh Giddey’s start to the season has been anything but smooth, but a renewed focus could have things moving in the right direction.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard has averaged a career-low 5.3 assists through 11 games and has looked to build on his FIBA performance. Giddey was a top scoring option with Australia, but that has not translated to the NBA this season.
While that increased aggression has shown up in his games so far, Giddey’s scoring focus has taken away from his strengths as a playmaker. Although Oklahoma City has powered through his struggles to a 7-4 record, Giddey’s scoring focus has had underwhelming results.
Giddey has scored 12.5 points per game, which is the same as his rookie season and a substantial drop from his 16.6 last season. Giddey’s shot attempts have fallen from last season, but the shots he is taking this season have not come within the flow of the offense.
“I think early on, I was kinda hellbent on scoring the ball for some reason,” Giddey said recently.
However, when Giddey gets his teammates involved, his shots come more naturally. The looks he gets are typically better, and the offense runs smoother when he is not playing with a score-first mentality.
That mentality is something the Australian guard and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault have discussed.
“I spoke with coach around that,” Giddey said. “We just kinda found ways to address that. Me as a player, I’m at my best when I’m making people around me better.”
Giddey’s season began with a couple of six-assist performances in Chicago and Cleveland. However, he matched that number only one time in his next seven outings.
But his two most recent games paint a different picture.
Giddey has totaled 17 assists in his past two games, including a season-high 10 assists in Phoenix. While his shot attempts have not wavered, his approach to the game has altered compared to his first few games.
Those changes culminated in his best game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. Giddey finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 7-of-11 shooting.
Giddey not only made it a point to find his teammates but also found opportunities to get easy baskets in transition. However, his 3-point shot is still a work in progress, as he is shooting only 19% from beyond the arc this season.
He will not be able to turn around everything at once, but these small changes have already seen a positive effect on his and the Thunder’s season.
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