Giddey, Thunder hoping to fix on-court struggles
It started with an innocuous zone defense.
Threatened by Oklahoma City's offense back on Nov. 28, Minnesota shifted into it to save its top-rated defense face. It was an uncomfortable but innocent, seemingly spur-of-the-moment tactic. In part by creeping further away from third-year wing Josh Giddey, perhaps more than zones typically dictate, it worked.
Giddey's near invisibility was in its infancy then. But the league was watching.
This past week, teams have drastically changed the way they've defended Giddey, who has been the subject of an off-the-court NBA investigation and has been jeered by fans on the road. He's never seen anything like it.
Teams are generally opting to leave Giddey open. The Thunder offense has bordered on claustrophobic at times because of it.
“I was talking to him about it this morning,” coach Mark Daigneault said Thursday, “and he's like, ‘It's the first time I've gotten played like that,' which I think is an important point. He's been here for two years. And I look at it as a compliment to our offense that we're seeing that now.”
The Mavericks weren't entirely complementary when they placed rookie center Dereck Lively II on Giddey for extended periods, drifting from him whenever necessary. The Rockets allowing center Alpheren Sengun to roam off Giddey didn't feel flattering.
That's been life for Giddey, who's averaging career-lows in points (11.8), 2point percentage (44.5%), and has grinded down to a 47.2% true shooting percentage behind the team's thirdmost shot attempts (11.9).
If the Thunder's past couple games were any indication, teams' sudden shift in approach to defending Giddey isn't going to evaporate. But Daigneault isn't looking to hide him. He views it as OKC's newest wall to scale during its
process of becoming a contender.
“That's like the natural course that you have to go through,” Daigneault said. “You have to go through those struggles to evolve.”
Daigneault pointed toward the league's most recent dynasty, the Golden State Warriors. He noted the unique play style that they eventually perfected to the point people often forget its early stages. The phonebook of audibles they've drafted from being picked apart through the years.
Seasons of being blitzed, trapped, box-and-1'd. Golden State compiled endless film on themselves, a mental clutter of pictures, until they could willingly put Blockbuster out of business.
“They had to clear those hurdles and then they got better,” Daigneault said of the Warriors, “and then they got to a point where they were almost unbreakable. And that's why they were so good. Because not only were they good with Plan A, but when you went to Plan B and C against them, they still had solutions. We need to develop the solutions.
“It's the first time that we've had a good enough offense, probably collectively, that we're seeing the kitchen sink. And now that we're seeing the kitchen sink, we have to calibrate. We have to improve.”
They say the first step to recovery is acknowledgement.
Daigneault had no shame in revisiting the hiccups. Minnesota's zone, Dallas' double-team frenzy, Houston's cross match with Giddey and Chet Holmgren — all instances he admitted the team could've handled better. All issues magnified by Giddey's recent play.
The cramped spacing, the wonky takes at the rim, the unfamiliar level of indecision.
OKC's mythical early-season efficiency was never going to be sustainable. With Lu Dort having recently come down to Earth, it's made any hope of instantly solving Giddey's troubles even tougher.
Through 368 minutes on the floor together, Dort and Giddey have produced a -2.29 net rating, 113.29 offensive rating and 115.58 defensive rating. Lineups with Giddey on and Dort to the bench have featured a 9.06 net rating, 121.17 offensive rating and 112.10 defensive rating. The Dort and non-Giddey lineups have made for a 8.00 net rating, 119.79 offensive rating and 111.79 defensive rating.
His level of lineup combinations puts him awfully close to Emmett Brown as far as mad scientists go, but even Daigneault hasn't turned to removing the team's 2021 lottery pick from the starting lineup. Perhaps it's an expected vote of confidence for a player grasping for some. Or a firm headbutt to the traditional process for good teams and the accompanying hurdles.
Some coaches might opt to change Giddey's shot selection. Daigneault isn't one.
“We're fine with him shooting open threes, like those are good shots,” Daigneault said. “If he shoots it, shoot it. If not, move it quickly so that we can maintain an advantage.”
The way defenses have responded to Giddey has been too sudden, too striking — a level of breakage that feels unlikely to change soon. Daigneault will have to get on his Walter White to cook up any immediate solution. He figures he'll start simply.
“The first one is (to) let him see it for the first time,” Daigneault said. “…Let him see what solutions he finds. We need to find solutions with it. It's not going to be the only tactic we see for the rest of time.
“It's going to depend on their team and what their beliefs are. It's not going to be like this finite scheme against us. If it is, we'll get better at it quicker.”
All Daigneault has asked amid the shift is that Giddey makes quicker decisions. That he makes quicker plays off the catch, well before the defense can size him up in the middle of a possession. Anything but be indecisive.
There will be surprises. Like OKC wrapping its mind around a zone, only for it to get trucked by night-long traps a couple games later. Like surgically picking Giddey's minutes in the near future. Things that come with the novelty in navigating all this.
Remember much about the first days of friction for those 2010s Warriors? Daigneault probably doesn't either.
“The league is not just going to sit back and let you do what you want to do,” Daigneault said. “Everybody adjusts.”