With their backs against the wall in their first second-round series since 2016, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a difficult – but clamored-for – move. In a pivotal Game 5 that would go on to swing the best of seven set between the Thunder and Mavericks, Mark Daigneault parked Josh Giddey on the pine.
This marked the first time in Giddey’s entire career he was not on the hardwood for the opening tip of a game. A 218-game streak snapped in a moment in favor of Isaiah Joe who accomplished the goal: Getting the Thunder off to a better start.
“It was obviously a different perspective sitting there watching the tip, but as I said, I thought [Isaiah Joe] was great. I thought the way he impacted that starting — the four guys that had started all year was great, and he did an awesome job of coming in there and fitting in seamlessly,” Giddey said on Sunday at his exit interview.
While the conversation of the Thunder’s starting five was a hot-button topic all season long, it was not exactly controversial to sit the former No. 6 overall pick in this I-35 playoff series.
Yeah, as I said, it’s a chess match. You play the same team seven times in a row, they’re going to make adjustments, we’re going to make adjustments. They made some. We knew they were going to cross-match going into the series, and we tried to find ways to attack it. There was probably better matchups for us on the floor at the time,” Giddey explained.
This was a decision the Oklahoma City Thunder guard agreed with despite being the ultimate competitor, still being aware enough to take accountability for his own flaws.
“Obviously I was struggling. Coach did what he thought was best for the team. To be honest, I probably agree with him. As hard as it is for a player to sit there and say, I should be on the bench, at the time, Cason, Isaiah, these guys were probably better in the series for Dallas.” Giddey admits.
Now, the former lottery pick heads into a critical offseason for his NBA career. A summer that needs to be full of development with a massive showcase at the Olympics to display improvements in a more ideal role for him.
“I don’t want to feel this feeling again. It will make me a lot better and stronger as a player to never let something like this happen again,” the motivated 21-year-old iterated on Sunday.
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