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Will the Thunder Make a Starting Lineup Change?

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Kenny Kluska | Last updated 5/12/24

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off an impressive 56-26 regular season. That helped earn them the top overall seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Health played a large role in their success as their main five players all started at least 71 games.

While they are now in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Oklahoma City fans are becoming worried. After winning Game 1, they have now lost two straight. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Thunder on Saturday by the score of 105-101. That now gives Dallas a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 taking place on Monday.

Will the Thunder look to make a starting lineup change to shake things up?

Will the Thunder Make a Starting Lineup Change?

Giddey’s Minutes Shrinking Rapidly

In the 2023-24 regular season, Josh Giddey averaged 25.1 minutes per contest. While that’s less than his first two seasons, the Thunder have a lot more depth than in the past.

In the first three games of their second-round matchup, the 21-year-old has only played 41 minutes combined. While Saturday was arguably the best game for the third-year pro in this series, he still only played 13 minutes. Giddey was taken out in the third quarter in the midst of a large Mavericks run. He did not return to the court.

Giddey was a -1 in his 13 minutes. While substantially better than the -27 he was in his 28 minutes during the first two games, it is evident that until he makes the Mavericks pay by consistently making open shots, it’s hard to trust him out there.

Josh Giddey not built for the playoffs pic.twitter.com/vVHEfojxuy

— BrickWrld (@BRICKW0RLD) May 10, 2024

Giddey has made just one of his eight three-point tries in the first three games.

Who Could Take Josh Giddey’s Spot in the Lineup?

Not only were the Thunder relatively healthy this season, but they have also been one of the league’s deepest teams. Because of this, there are a few options as to who could replace Josh Giddey if a starting lineup change is deemed necessary by head coach Mark Daigneault.

When Giddey missed a game on December 23, rookie Cason Wallace took his place in the starting lineup. The 10th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wallace connected on 41.9% of his three-point attempts in the regular season. That has slipped to 33.3% so far in the playoffs, but Wallace provides solid defense as well.

The only other game Giddey missed in the regular season was the second-to-last one. Inserted with the starters that day was Gordon Hayward. It is unlikely that the 34-year-old would be the choice in the playoffs as he has yet to even score in this postseason.

Waived by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022, the Thunder pounced at the opportunity to sign Isaiah Joe once he entered the market. The 24-year-old has connected on more than 40% of his three-point tries in each of his two seasons with Oklahoma City. He has made 11 of 24 (45.8%) so far in this year’s playoffs.

The 55th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Aaron Wiggins has averaged 21.7 minutes through the first three games of the series. After a strong Game 1 (16 points, 3-4 from three), he hasn’t been quite as impactful in Games 2 and 3 (15 combined points, 1-6 from three). Wiggins’ defensive abilities make him an intriguing choice to take Giddey’s spot.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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