Josh Giddey injured himself during the LA Clippers-OKC Thunder game on Friday. The Thunder point guard slipped on a drive and injured his ankle. He limped to the locker room after sustaining the injury. It seems like a high ankle injury, but that's only speculation for now. The video makes it seem like a brutal injury either way.
Giddey took a while to get back up as he grimaced in pain as he got up. He slipped on a wet stop and turned his ankle completely. Thunder coach Mike Daigenault had to call a timeout to get Giddey out of the game. Here's the video of his injury:
Giddey is averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 25 games. He's shooting 43.0%, including 31.0% from 3 and 80.6% from the free throw line. Besides his 3-point shooting percentage, which isn't encouraging either, Giddey is averaging career lows in every other statistical category.
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It's a tough break for the 21-year-old and the Thunder, who desperately needed him to improve his production to inch closer to their ceiling. Nonetheless, the Thunder are second in the West, with a 17-8 record.
Analyzing the impact of Josh Giddey's potential absence for OKC Thunder
The OKC Thunder were yet to play a game without Josh Giddey this season. Despite his underwhelming production, Giddey has maintained his spot as the team's starting point guard. He remains a solid ball-handler and floor general for the Thunder's offense.
OKC is the 10th-best offense with this lineup, so there may be some fluctuations in that aspect without Giddey. He's integral to their schemes, supporting Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the perimeter shooters. Not having Giddey could be a significant miss.
However, the OKC Thunder have survived against the streaking LA Clippers despite Giddey playing only 14 minutes. It turned out to be one of his best games, though, as he had tallied 11 points, three rebounds and four assists in that short time, shooting four-of-five, including three-of-three from deep.
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams took care of the ball-handling and playmaking duties after Josh Giddey's exit, while the others contributed significantly. Holmgren and Williams had seven assists each, while four others recorded at least three dimes.
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