'You can certainly feel it': Josh Giddey & young Thunder squad still adjusting to rigors of NBA schedule

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Josh Giddey wanted advice on how to navigate the rigors of an NBA season, so he texted Aussie mate Andrew Bogut, who played 14 years in the league.

“Us younger guys have never played this many games before,” Giddey said after the Spurs shellacked the Thunder on Wednesday night. “We’re getting to the point now where this is probably where our (NBL) season’s ending, but we’ve still got another half of the year to go. I just hit (Bogut) up, asked him things that he did to get through it.”

A midweek misfire against the Spurs isn’t reason for concern, especially for a team constructed to lose, but the Thunder has earned a scrappy reputation this season despite being outmanned on paper night after night.

The Thunder has been blown out, once by historic proportions, but most of OKC’s recent losses have been competitive. The Thunder is 1-8 in January, but six of those eight losses were within double digits.

A no-show in San Antonio at least makes you wonder if the unrelenting NBA schedule is catching up with the Thunder — which has plenty of young legs, most of whom are still learning how to manage the NBA calendar.

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Thunder rookie Josh Giddey waits to introduced before Saturday's game against Cleveland, one of OKC's eight losses in nine games this month.
Thunder rookie Josh Giddey waits to introduced before Saturday's game against Cleveland, one of OKC's eight losses in nine games this month.

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Friday night at Charlotte will be the third stop of a four-game Thunder road trip.

“Nah, we’re not gonna use that as an excuse,” guard Ty Jerome said. “We got a young team. We knew that coming into the season. But we believe in ourselves and we have a high standard for ourselves.

“If it’s, OK, we’re a little short on our shot because of our legs one night, that’s acceptable. Not the way we played tonight,” Jerome said after the Spurs loss.

The 24-year-old Jerome qualifies as a Thunder veteran, but he’s never played even half of an NBA season. Injuries sidelined Jerome for chunks of his first two seasons. He’s played 35 games this season — already a career high.

Giddey played just 28 games last season in Australia’s National Basketball League. The 19-year-old rookie has already played 39 games in the NBA, and he’s averaging 31 minutes per game.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 5-of-21 against the Spurs, played 35 games last season before suffering a plantar fascia tear.

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Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) sit on the bench during a timeout during a 107-102 loss to Cleveland on Saturday.
Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) sit on the bench during a timeout during a 107-102 loss to Cleveland on Saturday.

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Rookies Aaron Wiggins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Tre Mann — all key members of the Thunder’s rotation — are playing almost every other night compared to two games per week in college.

“You can certainly feel it — not really physically, but more mentally, just getting motivated for each game and each practice,” Giddey said. “I’m not saying it’s not there, but you can definitely feel stuff, you know, outside noises kinda having an impact.”

Giddey, Robinson-Earl, Wiggins and Mann all rank among the top-20 rookies in total minutes. Giddey is fourth, behind Orlando’s Franz Wagner, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.

“I’m not alone,” Giddey said. “There’s 59 other (rookie draft picks) going through it. We’re getting paid a lot of money to play in the NBA and play basketball. If you zoom out and look at it, it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Josh Giddey & young Thunder still adjusting to rigors of NBA schedule