The NBA playoffs continue, and today the Thunder travel to the road to continue to challenge the Mavericks. In the end, they defeated the Mavericks 100-96, and the score between the two sides came to a 2-2 draw. The reason why the Thunder won this game is closely related to Alexander's performance, he scored 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, including 14 of 27 shots, and he used lethal shots again and again to help the team score at critical moments.
In addition to Alexander's excellent performance, Chet also had a very good performance, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Josh Giddey, who started the game, continued his slump today, scoring only 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting, and he was abandoned by the coach after only 12 minutes of play in today's game, and the coach did not want Giddey even if he used Carson Wallace at the final critical moment.
Giddey's weakness was on full display in this game, and that was his lack of outside shooting ability. So in today's game, the Mavericks were decisive when they were defending. The Mavericks' defensive style caused Alexander's breakthrough space to be squeezed away. So the Thunder head coach didn't dare to use him, and his defensive effect on the court didn't seem to be excellent, and it seemed that he was a hole-in-the-box existence on the court. It didn't have any real impact on both ends of the floor.
So the head coach of the Thunder began to deploy the lineup and sent players who can shoot more on the court, so that the space of the Thunder team has become better. Giddey has been in the league for many seasons, but has been tepid. Even in the last two seasons, there has been a regression. Now that the Thunder have established a new three, Giddey has clearly become a victim of the team. Alexander is a veritable big man in the team, while Chet and Jalen Williams seem to be the team's second and third leaders, and Giddey is in an awkward position at the moment.
Of course, the main reason is that he can't play a very good role on the court, if he can hit a very consistent shot from the outside, this will be a huge help to the Thunder, and maybe the team will be willing to offer him a contract extension. But Giddey is a player who isn't very good at three-point shooting, and when he's on the court, it makes the Thunder's space very crowded. He shot just 31 percent from three-point range in his career, and it's hard to survive in the league without a good three-point shooting percentage. Moreover, his style of play is also very soft, and he does not have a consistent mid-range projection. It may be difficult to get a good chance in the future for this kind of player who doesn't have many characteristics, and if nothing else, the Thunder may choose to give up Giddey this year.