If he manages to shine in FIBA basketball with Australia, Josh Giddey has much more difficulty flourishing in the NBA, where his unreliability at 3-points but especially his defensive shortcomings pose a problem. This was seen at the end of his adventure in Oklahoma City and it is now evident at Chicago.
Indeed, during the (lost) match against the Cavaliers, the Australian leader only played 15 minutes and he did not even start the second half with the other starters, on the decision of Billy Donovan . This one mentioning the problem of his player's fouls to justify himself, except that the Melbourne native knows full well that his level of defense was the reason…
“I thought I was progressing and going in the right direction, but having an evening like that destroys my confidence a little.”
“ Horrible, from start to finish » he said regarding his defensive performance, without mincing his words. “ Defensively, and I'm just talking about myself, it was just catastrophic from the start. They targeted me and I need to be much better, whether it's in coverage or on the man. I don't even blame it on faults. That worked, but the rest was just as bad. I wouldn't even have been played if I were Billy Donovan. I was horrible on both ends of the court. »
A few weeks ago, however, we said that Josh Giddey's style of play fit with what the Bulls were trying to implement. So far, this is not obvious (12.5 points, 6.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds at 42% shooting, 40% 3-pointers and 66% shooting), especially since the 22-year-old leader does not is not usable in a tight end to the match because of its defensive limitations…
“ It pisses me off to play like that on defense » he added. “ I thought I was progressing and going in the right direction, but experiencing an evening like this destroys my confidence a little.. »
| Josh Giddey | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | OKC | 54 | 32 | 41.9 | 26.3 | 70.9 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| 2022-23 | OKC | 76 | 31 | 48.2 | 32.5 | 73.1 | 1.9 | 5.9 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 16.6 |
| 2023-24 | OKC | 80 | 25 | 47.5 | 33.7 | 80.6 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 12.3 |
| 2024-25 | CHI | 13 | 28 | 41.8 | 40.0 | 65.9 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 12.5 |
| Total | 222 | 29 | 46.2 | 31.6 | 74.3 | 1.7 | 5.6 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 13.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
