Any decision that a Coach of the Year winner makes in an NBA Playoffs series clearly has some rationale to it. Coach Mark Daigneault faced some tough rotations and schemes coming from Jason Kidd. His Oklahoma City Thunder needed to find some momentum on offense against the Dallas Mavericks. This is why he fielded a slew of players to back Shai Gilgeous-Alexander up. However, one player was clearly playing on meager minutes. Why was Josh Giddey on the bench a lot if they were looking for answers?

Mark Daigneault gave a very simple answer. It was because the Thunder needed to find some rhythm and clearly Josh Giddey was not giving them the production that they needed. After all, it is an NBA Playoffs series and they cannot just rely on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to run a heliocentric scheme every time. The Thunder's Coach of the Year clearly states that it's just an in-game adjustment against the Mavericks, via Michael Martin of Oklahoman Sports.

“I wouldn't say that it didn't work. I would just say, it's a halftime sub that we've done for a long time. It's basically an in-game substitution, I don't view it as any different than checking somebody into the game with eight minutes to go in the the third quarter or something. So, we're going to keep it fluid. We went big right away early tonight. We're going to be a moving target there, do what we think is best every night. Every game is different, we're going to keep doing it,” Mark Daigneault said.

Josh Giddey only saw 11 minutes of action against the Mavericks. He went zero for two from the three-point area and was three for six from all three levels of scoring. This still gave the Thunder eight points but that was clearly less than they needed to stay afloat in this NBA Playoffs clash. When the game wrapped up, Josh Giddey ended up with two rebounds and a game-low -2o plus-minus.

Thunder get beat at home by the Mavericks

May 9, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) drives to the basket beside Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) during the first quarter of game two of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

It was all Luka Doncic and the Mavericks from the start. The Thunder could not find any answers to Jason Kidd's schemes and rotational calls to stay alive in Game 2. Mark Daigneault's squad got outclassed in every aspect of the game.

In the battle of the boards, the Thunder just could not get second-chance buckets. The Mavericks, on the other hand, always beat them to it. It was a very evident disparity as Coach Kidd's squad managed to notch 32 defensive boards to the Thunder's meager eight offensive rebounds. They also could not stop the Mavericks from getting extra looks after a miss. The game ended with the squad from Texas bringing down 12 offensive rebounds with some being converted into extra possessions.

Another crucial battle that the Thunder lost was the one from way downtown. They shot a serviceable 33.3% from deep but it was clearly not enough because Luka Doncic and his squad were making it rain from deep. The Mavericks sank 48.6% of their three-pointers and got away with the 119 to 110 victory in Game 2.