OKC Thunder 2022-23 Regular Season Discussion

[Old Man Game]

Poku is the 3rd Thunder player I'm the most excited about (after SGA and Jalen, not counting Chet). It tells more about our lack of talent than Poku himself.

You're absolutely right and that does speak volumes.

[Mickey8]

There were some very bad calls against him in the first half, he had 4 personal fouls at the half time , at least two of them were bogus calls. The way he's blocking opponents is just great , he's making less and less mistakes even though there are still times when he makes the move ,driving to the baseball for an example and instead to finishing the play, being almost alone at the rim he passes the ball to the teammates. But he looks like he belongs on the court. There is lots of raw talent with Pokusevski, is just too bad that he's frame is so tiny, and is easy for his opponents to push him around one on one.

[Dadouv47]

Giddey had many flaws last season but he was always motivated and confident. Looks like he lost his confidence and doesn't play with the same "joy". He's a smart and hard working kid so I still think he can figure it out but I'm legit worried right now.

[Old Man Game]

Giddey had many flaws last season but he was always motivated and confident. Looks like he lost his confidence and doesn't play with the same "joy". He's a smart and hard working kid so I still think he can figure it out but I'm legit worried right now.

I was looking at his stats in several categories of the advanced stats he is notably worse this year than he was last year. I still think he'll figure it out eventually, but I think it's a conundrum because right now he's hurting the team. And I'm afraid SGA is going to get fed up with it at some point.

[Xatticus]

Poku is the 3rd Thunder player I'm the most excited about (after SGA and Jalen, not counting Chet). It tells more about our lack of talent than Poku himself.

This certainly isn't a talented roster at present. I will never understand why we dealt the Sengun pick. He has his flaws and he will take some lumps as he develops, but it sure would be fun to watch him on this roster.

[Mr Thunder Nick]

Giddey had many flaws last season but he was always motivated and confident. Looks like he lost his confidence and doesn't play with the same "joy". He's a smart and hard working kid so I still think he can figure it out but I'm legit worried right now.

I was looking at his stats in several categories of the advanced stats he is notably worse this year than he was last year. I still think he'll figure it out eventually, but I think it's a conundrum because right now he's hurting the team. And I'm afraid SGA is going to get fed up with it at some point.

HE IS ONLY 20 YEAR OLD

[kdthunderup]

Giddey had many flaws last season but he was always motivated and confident. Looks like he lost his confidence and doesn't play with the same "joy". He's a smart and hard working kid so I still think he can figure it out but I'm legit worried right now.

I was looking at his stats in several categories of the advanced stats he is notably worse this year than he was last year. I still think he'll figure it out eventually, but I think it's a conundrum because right now he's hurting the team. And I'm afraid SGA is going to get fed up with it at some point.

HE IS ONLY 20 YEAR OLD

Exactly. I know people want to see this team play winning basketball but it’s more important right now to develop these guys.

The only way Giddey is going to adapt playing alongside SGA is by playing with him. If he still hasn’t adjusted by next season then for sure we can start assessing his fit with this team or if he is better suited to run the bench unit.

For now, let’s just let them try to figure it out.

[Old Man Game]

Giddey had many flaws last season but he was always motivated and confident. Looks like he lost his confidence and doesn't play with the same "joy". He's a smart and hard working kid so I still think he can figure it out but I'm legit worried right now.

I was looking at his stats in several categories of the advanced stats he is notably worse this year than he was last year. I still think he'll figure it out eventually, but I think it's a conundrum because right now he's hurting the team. And I'm afraid SGA is going to get fed up with it at some point.

HE IS ONLY 20 YEAR OLD

I said I thought he'd figure it out eventually. Aren't we saying the same thing here? I'm just saying I think Shai might get tired of waiting for him to figure it out. Cuz SGA is ready to be elite right now.

[Mr Thunder Nick]

Giddey is playing in the NBA only for 13 month now (69 games only). He has already 5 triple doubles ; points per game 13,01 ; assist per game 6,26 and rebounds per game 7,62. I'm not the stats specialist in person, but I know that these numbers are really strong for a now 20 year old player. We are in a rebuild modus (Shai knows that (also at the moment, he signs his extension). Let Josh playing his game and make his experiences, We all will benefit of this time later on.
STOP..... to make pressure on this kid who has already more basketball IQ than Russel Westbrook with his 34 years and over 1000 games.

[ThunderBolt]

Giddey is playing in the NBA only for 13 month now (69 games only). He has already 5 triple doubles ; points per game 13,01 ; assist per game 6,26 and rebounds per game 7,62. I'm not the stats specialist in person, but I know that these numbers are really strong for a now 20 year old player. We are in a rebuild modus (Shai knows that (also at the moment, he signs his extension). Let Josh playing his game and make his experiences, We all will benefit of this time later on.
STOP..... to make pressure on this kid who has already more basketball IQ than Russel Westbrook with his 34 years and over 1000 games.

Both arguments are fair. I'm on your side of this as far as giving Giddey time. However giving time doesn't mean he will improve to the degree we want, nor does it mean that even if he improves that the fit alongside Shai won't be clunky. We have to talk about something around here.

[bbms]

given how well poku is shooting, he's earning himself some of the feeds team is giving to dort

dude is starting to earn a lot of money

also, a reminder that poku and giddey are younger than jalen williams

[BlazersBroncos]

I think its pretty outlandish to think SGA and Giddey cant coexist. We have seen 2 high-usage-ball-dominant guys coexist numerous times. LBJ and Wade, KD and Curry as two glaring examples.

Obviously you want to stagger them and ensure Josh is on the floor 100% of the time SGA isnt. I also think ideally you dont ride SGA for 36, get that closer to 34. So now your looking at 12 minutes a game where SGA isnt on the floor, Josh takes those. That means they find a way to coexist for 18mpg (Assuming Giddey is a 30mpg guy, and I think thats ideal for him now and moving forward). Thats 1.5 quarters that they need to find a way to 'make it work'. I think thats something totally feasible and think that at times figuring out ways to get SGA easy looks off Giddey will be important to keeping SGA fresh, he dribbles and works pretty freaking hard at times to get to his spots.

So while Josh is starting slow and there are roadbumps, you dont cut bait after 1.25 seasons of a guy with the unique abilities Giddey has. I still think he can be a #3 on a playoff team.

If anyone is in the conversation for a not-long-term-fit conversation it should be Dort. He is a 3/D guy but due to necessity OKC had to give him a green light and now I think it may be hard to reel him back in. I also think he is more of a 24-26mpg guy than a 31mpg guy. He should be taking a Tony Allen amount of shots, like 7-8 per game. Not 12+. I worry that the role he played as the 2nd or 3rd scoring option early in his career is going to have negative impact moving forward as its clear as day that on a winning team he is a role player who uses his energy on D and takes open shots with low usage.

[bbms]

really excited to see chet with poku out there

[Devilanche]

Just remember guys that progress isn’t linear and we can always have one of Giddey or SGA on the court if that means it’s 26-28 mins and 32-34 mins this season that’s only 10 minutes whereby they will overlap .

And hopefully their 3point shooting game continue to improve.

[slick_watts]

giddey and shai can co-exist if giddey improves. giddey is historically bad at some things that make him just gross when he's not hitting his tough shots in the paint.

for his career to this point he has < .125 FTr, < 30% 3pt, > .200 3PAr. basically he gets to the line like a three point specialist, and attempts and makes threes at the rate of a guy who probably should never attempt them. in nba history only 10 players other than him have started out their first two seasons this way. one of the other 10 was poku! among the rest are mostly guys who were never good, and rafer alston who would be ok later.

if giddey turns this around, and can become useful in more ways, yes he can find a spot next to sga long term. that's what he'll need to do since, generally, a possession used by giddey according to what you would call his current strengths means the cost of not utilizing shai at all for the possession. but he's starting from a point that's lower than just about every other player their first two seasons in the league, so it's hard to see him get there for me.

[Mickey8]

Pokusevski and SGA have a good pick and roll game going between them, very nice chemistry.

[Big nick]

Poku is playing so well and under control. I think sga and giddy can coexist for sure giddy will take some of the heavy lifting from sga bring the ball up. Baz has been looking pretty dang good lately also maybe because of a contract coming up who knows. I had very high hopes for Mann but he looks lost but it is year two anyway fun game tonight.

[slick_watts]

bazley has been great this year, he's shooting unsustainably poorly at the rim. when that comes up, if he keeps everything else going the way it has been, we might regret not extending him.

[Old Man Game]

Actually went to the game last night. first time seeing this group in person. Something that stood out lot of our guys don't make quick decisions. Being slow processing the game is one of those less visible but important areas that can hold back young players.

[Dadouv47]

Actually went to the game last night. first time seeing this group in person. Something that stood out lot of our guys don't make quick decisions. Being slow processing the game is one of those less visible but important areas that can hold back young players.

I had that feeling watching Poku yesterday (not in person). He could easily drive to the basket several times but decided to look for SGA first or to make a midrange shot. I'm not sure if it's a lack of confidence or just how Coach D wants him to play (I love how Poku is playing this season, just think he has size and potential to do more).