Josh Giddey treated the Knicks like a pumpkin on Halloween night, carving up New York’s defense and leading the Chicago Bulls to a 135-125 victory on Oct. 31. He scored a career-high 32 points, but it’s what Giddey didn’t do that was so scary: He didn’t commit a single turnover.
The 23-year-old’s stat line in the win looked like this: 32 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and one steal on 12-of-21 shooting from the field (57.1 percent), 4-of-8 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
And a “0” in the turnovers column.
These are the kinds of nights that get you into the All-Star conversation. Or the Most Improved Player discussion. Or, possibly, both.
Josh Giddey had 9 assists and 0 turnovers in the Bulls win over the Knicks
Though his first four seasons (it’s easy to forget he’s already played 280 NBA games), Giddey averaged 2.7 turnovers. Given how often he has the ball — he has a career usage rate of 23.1 — that’s not a massively problematic number. When the Bulls played at the second-fastest pace in the league last season and racked up the second-most possessions, Giddey gave the ball away 2.9 times per contest and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 2.5-to-1.
But his efficiency against the Knicks was absurd.
The Aussie played more minutes than anyone on either team. His 38 minutes and 29 seconds on the floor were nearly eight more than Nikola Vucevic’s. Mikal Bridges (37:43) and OG Anunoby (36:28) were the only players who came close, and both play for New York.
Giddey’s usage rate landed at 27.0, only behind Vucevic’s 27.8 for Chicago. His 57.1 percent field-goal percentage was tied with Kevin Huerter — who finished 4-for-7. He finished the night with an offensive rating of 148 and an effective field-goal percentage of 66.7 (45 percent or above is generally considered good for guards who shoot a healthy diet of threes).
“I thought he (Giddey) played a great game all the way around,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said per Sam Smith of NBA.com. “He was downhill, got to the free throw line, shot some threes, made some really great passes.
“He’s the kind of guy who impacts the game in so many ways. … He’s got a real high basketball IQ and really understands the game.”
It certainly takes a player with an elite IQ to have the ball for more than a quarter of his team’s possessions and lead an idyllic offense while racking up nine assists without giving the ball away even once.
So yes, scoring a career-high in points is exciting, without a doubt. Helping your team start 5-0 is special. Beating one of the best teams in your conference has to make that even sweeter. But having the game Giddey had without turning the ball over is an unbelievably rare feat and shouldn’t be overlooked.