Hurting OKC Thunder’s spacing
Josh Giddey’s shooting has been his long-standing weakness, even before his days as an NBA player.
While he had been a better shooter since the OKC Thunder started winning last season, Giddey has not been particularly shooting the lights out this year. The 21-year-old guard has been shooting 32.8 percent from distance on three attempts per game, despite the daylight he receives against defenses.
This is a freaking problem. pic.twitter.com/iR9pnOfo92
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) March 4, 2024
To his credit, Giddey has been a willing shooter, often shooting long-range shots that are wide open as defenses sag off of him on numerous occasions this season.
As defenses deliberately neglect him in their defensive schemes, Giddey has hurt the Thunder’s offense, impairing the team’s spacing. With less space to work with, the Thunder’s plethora of magnificent drivers, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, have had to work harder for their points
The way teams guard Giddey aggravates this concern, as opposing bigs have been attached to him, allowing them to remain lurking in the paint and tag potential cutters and inside incursions.
This was on full display last week when the Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic, who was the primary defender for Giddey, watched the Aussie walk into a missed open three-pointer.
Opponents know they can live with Giddey shooting the ball. Certainly, his three-point attempts have been an eyesore all season.
Giddey being a non-threat shooter forces the Thunder to play 4-on-5 on offense, which they cannot afford against high-intensity playoff teams.