” Most people were probably expecting us to be at the top of the lottery in June. In the end, this was not the case at all for Josh Giddey and the Thunder who only inherited the 12th pick in the Draft next month.
The Aussie doesn’t hear blame “those who predicted a new galley season at OKC. “ We are a young team, the second choice is injured and is sidelined for the season, I understand “Summarizes the playmaker, referring to the injury of Chet Holmgren.
He and his teammates didn’t care what he said about them before the season. ” Outside noise was never an extra motivation for our group “, Displays the 20-year-old player in a speech on The Players Tribuneto describe his attachment to the franchise and look back on the brilliant past season.
According to him, the main challenge of the exercise was not to ” Don’t let defeat get you down. Sometimes you lose four or five games and as a young team it can be up to 10 or 11 because you don’t have the experience to know how to get back on track. . »
The Australian in particular remembers a five-game losing streak, suffered after the All-Star Game break, where the team had ” clearly lacking in concentration “. ” But what I like about this team is that during this series, we never came to training the next day with our heads down. »
We’re going in the right direction, we all feel it
And the Thunder was able to get back on track precisely by winning eight of its next ten games, thus balancing its record to get closer to the qualifying places. ” This says a lot about our growth and the maturity of our group. Giddey deduces. The latter, however, regrets defeats against modest opponents (Detroit, Charlotte, etc.) while the race for qualification in the West was very tight. ” Honestly, we probably went into those games thinking we were just going to win and crush them. »
Mark Daigneault’s men still managed to win their ticket to the “play-in”, and even to win on the floor of the Pelicans, yet more experienced and therefore favorites, during the first qualifying round.
” Nobody thought we were going to win this match, and we beat them at home. It was my first victory in the post-season, so it was special. I grew up as a kid watching this kind of match, I dreamed of it. And then we had to do it again two days later in Minnesota. Unfortunately, we weren’t ready from the start. […] Ending the season like this left a sour taste in our mouths. But I think it’s a rewarding experience », Qualifies the native of Melbourne.
The latter recalls that there is a ” difference between a young team and a more experienced team. But the positive side is that we are learning the lessons that a young team should learn and we are going in the right direction. We all feel it. »
| Josh Giddey | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2021-22 | OKAY | 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 | OKAY | 76 | 31 | 48.2 | 32.5 | 73.1 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 16.6 |
| Total | 130 | 31 | 45.9 | 29.5 | 72.3 | 1.9 | 6.0 | 7.9 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 14.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
