The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hit hard by the injury bug as of late, with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Ousmane Dieng, and Chet Holmgren still sidelined with injuries. In the last week, OKC has played games without Josh Giddey, Darius Bazley, Kenrich Williams, and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Yesterday, Josh Giddey returned to the lineup for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a battle with an illness that spanned four days and two games for the second straight game against the Portland Trail Blazers and helped OKC extend their winning streak to three games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder saw Josh Giddey return after a two-game absence from a battle with an illness that caused him to lose 10 points
Before the game, Mark Daigneault announced that Josh Giddey would return to the lineup after a battle with a sickness that caused both of them to lose weight, and while they would have no hard minute restrictions, they would be monitored closely.
After the game Mark Daigneault said he was surprised by how many minutes Giddey was able to play, while Josh Giddey told us just how much weight he lost saying “ten pounds, I kinda felt it out there tonight” he said with a smile.
The sophomore point guard returned with a bang posting 13 points, dishing out six assists, and hauling in six rebounds while capturing a steal on the defensive end and shooting 75 percent for the game with just two missed shots.
I asked Giddey after the game about that steal and his improved communication skills on the defensive end, and he said that area of his game had been a “point of emphasis” for him as a way to impact the defensive side of the floor since he will never be picking up the primary scorer on the opposing team.
That was a pretty impressive performance from Josh Giddey given the context of what surrounded that game and hopefully can continue to round into form on Friday night against the Pelicans.