The backcourt pairing of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey has looked much smoother in its second season together, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The Thunder‘s young guards were still working out ball-handling responsibilities when Giddey suffered a season-ending hip injury last February. They’ve learned how to complement each other this year and are a major part of why OKC is in the playoff race at 23-24.
“When you’ve got two guys that really want to get it right, it’s less about their games, it’s less about their fit,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s more about, do the players want to work to get right? And in this particular case we have an entire team, it’s not just limited to Josh and Shai, (of) guys that want to get it right. I think that’s what you’re seeing over time.”
Giddey is averaging 16.0 PPG in his second NBA season and has become more dependable as an outside shooter, raising his three-point percentage from 26.3% to 32.8%. He’s also taking advantage of the opportunities created while defenses focus on Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks fifth in the league in scoring.
“Shai could have 40 points every night if he wanted to,” Giddey said, “but he’s unselfish, he gets off the ball, he makes players around him better.”
There’s more from Oklahoma City:
- Although the Thunder look like legitimate playoff contenders, any moves that general manager Sam Presti makes before the trade deadline will be focused on the future rather than securing a postseason spot, Mussatto states in a mailbag column. Mussatto sees Darius Bazley as the most likely candidate for a trade because of his limited offensive game, and he speculates that the team won’t re-sign Bazley in free agency this summer even if he’s not dealt away.
- Fans shouldn’t count on seeing Serbian guard Vasilije Micic in a Thunder uniform next season, Mussatto adds in the same piece. Although the 29-year-old continues to excel in Europe, it’s not clear if there’s a role for him in Oklahoma City. Micic wants a chance at regular playing time if he comes to the NBA, and Mussatto suggests that he might be more valuable to OKC as a trade chip.
- The Thunder have a strong case to finish as one of the top six teams in the West, contends Ethan Fuller of Basketball News. Oklahoma City is 8-3 in January and just one game out of sixth place. The Thunder and Nuggets are the only teams that rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive ratings for the month.
I had big doubts over SGA and Giddey together in the backcourt but they so far have done really well do silence the doubters.
Obviously big respect to Shai who has been tearing it up this season. He has to be an all star and get all NBA team honours this year. But also Giddey, all offseason I saw videos of him training and working in the gym particularly shooting the 3 and working from the wings. That work is paying off with a much improved 3 point percentage and he as a player should only get better and better if he continues to out in the work.
It’ll be interesting to see the rest of the developmental plan for the Thunder moving forward. Think they are possibly 2 years ahead of schedule in terms of wins and being a fringe playoff side especially with Chet having missed the whole year. They clearly aren’t interested in the VW sweepstakes. Also surprising they only project to have 1 first round pick this year and 1 second round pick. Not that they desperately need it but it means they still have so many in the coming years.
Giddey is only 20 years old too.
I still remember idiots on here proposing SGA trades and that he was unhappy and wanted out.
Thunder still have another 30 first round picks and swaps or so in the next 7 years to use as well. Add in Chet next year and the future is bright. Even if they don’t make the playoffs this year. (Which I predicted last year they would and had enough posters laugh at that.)
I think SGA would be unhappy if they only won 15 games of something over the season especially with Chet out and going into next year there would be a lot more pressure to win. However the Thunder are playing well and I’m sure he’s feeling good especially with the way he’s playing. I must say I had some SGA mock trades up but at the same time I’m still not 100% with him there. End of the day he’s going to put up 30-5-5 for the season and if he’s not competing for a title in 5 years I think he’s looking for a new team. He’s an amazing talent and he might not be patient to wait out a complete rebuild. Although right now that’s not a concern. As I said I think the Thunder are well ahead of schedule and he’s not at all unhappy or looking for a way out. It’s about drafting well, maybe even looking at trades in the offseason and next year making the playoffs with a healthy Chet.
Bazley is decent. Wouldn’t mind Bulls stealing him but they don’t have a 2nd round pick until 2033…
When healthy and complete the Thunder, Detroit, and even Orlando have looked like they’re definitely heading the right direction..
It’ll be fun to watch Isaac back with the Magic the rest of the year and see his impact he has on their squad.
When healthy, Orlando has so much young talent. Unfortunately, they loaded up with too many bigs, and then didn’t select the right guards; otherwise, Orlando could be a real powerhouse..
Even still, as currently constructed, they could still surprise alot of teams on a nightly basis. Their overall length, speed, and versatility could very well make them a surprise contender next season.
Either way, it’ll be fun to watch all three franchises as they’re just starting to each turn a corner with the talent level on their respective rosters. Whether they can learn to win cohesively will be their next step…
Not Detroit but definitely the other 2. Orlando hit on Cole but Suggs might have to get to the next level on a different team.
Idk man, when they’re all healthy, I really like their young core of Cunningham, Ivey, Stewart, Bey, and Livers…
I definitely agree that they’re clearly behind the other two teams in terms of young, quality talent, but I think they’re on the right path with their young nucleus.
With one more solid draft, and if they could keep Bogdanovic, Bagley, Burks, and Noel
I think they’d have a pretty solid 12-man roster with two more selections and Killian Hayes..
Odds are they’ll likely trade Bogey, Burks, and/or Noel, so they’ll have to replace them with some solid vets in the off-season, but if they could keep that roster together I wouldn’t see why they couldn’t start to really turn the corner..
Either way, it is going to be alot of fun seeing which of the worst teams gets Wembanyama or even Scoot..
If Detroit was to get Wemby, that would instantly make them alot of fun to watch..
Cunningham, Ivey, Bogey, Wemby, Stewart
&
Hayes, Burks, Bey, Bagley, Noel
At the very least, they’d certainly be fun to watch..
Either way though, I don’t have much faith in their front office, so I’m sure they will likely mess everything up first, and trade away their key veterans before this year’s trade deadline.
Yes, it will give them extra future draft capital, but they’ll still need to replace those key veterans. Then, they will likely end up signing veterans half as good as the guys they just traded away in the first place.
Also, at some point, you can only play so many guys, so there comes a point where you’re going to need to stop just drafting multiple players each year and use your draft capital to improve the players around your core.
You don’t just acquire really good veterans that fit your team perfectly, only to trade them away for more future picks. That’s also a really good way to keep guys from signing with your team in free agency. Heck, you’re lucky such a high quality player would even want to be a part of your rebuilding team in the first place.
If they’re not gonna have a role for Micic they should stop holding his career hostage. The guy really wants to play in the NBA and he’s good enough also.