DENVER — Josh Giddey’s offense continues to be All-Star-caliber.
Before finishing with 21 points and 14 rebounds against the Nuggets in a 130-127 victory Monday night that ended the Bulls’ five-game losing streak, he was fresh off his third triple-double of the season — the most among NBA guards — in a disappointing loss to the Jazz on Sunday. The only player in the NBA with more triple-doubles was 6-11 Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who had eight before doing it again against the Bulls (7-6).
That’s not bad company to be in. Nor is this the only impressive climb in Giddey’s game. Nearly a year ago, he was being pulled late in games because of defensive breakdowns as opponents targeted him — the same problem that cost him playing crucial playoff minutes with the Thunder months before they traded him to the Bulls last July.
Giddey still allows blow-bys that frustrate coach Billy Donovan, and some opponents, particularly the Cavaliers last week, continue to try to wear down his defense. But he’s putting up more resistance, which could be an important consideration when All-Stars are decided.
“[He’s] probably similar to [Bulls guard] Coby [White] early in his career — similar to where they were really targeting him,” Donovan said. “As a player, you have to shut off that running water where [opposing coaches eventually] say, ‘OK, there’s no reason to try and exploit this because it’s not there.’ That comes down to the personal pride of one-on-one guarding.
“I think [Giddey has] tried to do that. The one thing about Josh is the flexibility when we play against teams that are a little bigger — he can play against some of these bigger forwards, too. He’s pretty physical there. I do think Josh has tried to get better. I’ve noticed and seen growth from him from last November to the time now. He’s taken much more pride in that area.”
Donovan would like others to do the same. He and his staff witnessed 22 blow-bys in the double-overtime loss to the Jazz, and not just against their elite talent.
Not only do the Bulls need to improve there as a team, but they have to stop allowing themselves to be taken apart by the other team’s best player, especially late in games. That was a common concern during their losing streak, when they found themselves struggling against the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell and the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.
Their loss to the Pistons on Thursday was “an anomaly,” Giddey said, but then former Bull Lauri Markkanen hung 47 points on them Sunday in Salt Lake City.
Jokic scored a game-high 36 points Monday to go with 18 rebounds and 13 assists. But the Bulls finally turned a star away.
“It was good,” Donovan said. “We played together as a team. . . . Collectively keeping ourselves in the game for 48 minutes, we were able to close the game out. I thought we closed better [Monday night].”
Said Giddey: “It’s been an issue for us where the main guys have gotten off in the fourth quarter and taken over games. We can’t leave that responsibility to one person. Every team is going to their best guy down the stretch. We can’t leave guys on an island to guard these guys because they’re too good, too big.”