In just under 24 hours the NBA World will have a chance to do their favorite thing: Overreact. Team Canada (1-0) is set to face off with Team Australia (1-0) in an important Group A clash. Pushing to 2-0 in what is being deemed the Group of Death, offers a huge leg up for the victors in their attempt to medal at the Paris games.
This is the SEC of Olympic Basketball – it just means more in Oklahoma City, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort battle with their teammate-turned-foe Josh Giddey.
The Thunder elected to ship Giddey to Chicago to open up the NBA offseason in a swap that netted the Bricktown boys Alex Caruso. The defensive ace who strokes the trey ball at a 40 percent clip fits like a glove in Oklahoma City and Giddey is now primed to participate in a more palatable system for his skillset in the windy city.
So as these two unbeaten squads go toe-to-toe, it is inevitable that both Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander will produce countless highlights along the way – all indications even point to the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft playing the best basketball of his career in this setting, but that has no barring on the decision Oklahoma City made to tip-off the Summer.
Giddey from this Olympics through his time with the Bulls will continue to improve and produce at a higher clip than he ever did with the Thunder – and ever was going to do – this is not a case of the Bricktown boys giving up on a young player prematurely, it is a classic fit issue with the only fix being a change of scenery.
As Giddey dominates in the Olympic stage, it isn’t time to retroactively grade the trade or swing your stance – he was never bound for this on-ball role in Bricktown. Watching as the 6-foot-8 guard dominates the ball, getting downhill to finish at the rim and put the ball in the ring was never going to be a reality with the Thunder.
Especially after the 21-year-old rejected a bench role with the Thunder in favor of a more prominent casting with his Eastern Conference squad.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/stiles-points-josh-giddey-shai-gilgeous-alexander-mathup-not-worth-overreacting
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Publish date : 2024-07-29 08:00:01
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