Josh Giddey was looking like a clear franchise player before his hamstring injury that sidelined him for 11 games. Thankfully for Bulls fans, he didn't skip a beat upon his return to the rotation. Giddey put up 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists over 26 minutes, finishing second on the Bulls in scoring in a five-point win over a tough Minnesota Timberwolves squad. In Giddey's second season in Chicago, it's safe to say he has solidified his place as the centerpiece of the franchise. 

The main thing expected out of Josh Giddey in Chicago is to set up his teammates for good looks, and control the tempo of the game. Giddey did that job admirably in his first stint as a Bull, but he took his game to another level this season.

Per Cleaning The Glass, Giddey is has a massive 39.7% assist rate which ranks in the 89th percentile among point guards. He is creating the a majority of the assists for the Bulls offense, and has done that while helping the team rank within the top-five in pace, and maintaining his solid 3-point shooting while raising his attempts (37.8% on 4.8 3PA per game). 

Giddey still has a bit of a turnover problem, but that does come with the territory to a degree when you control so much of your team's offense. All the being said, a turnover rate just north of 15% shows plenty of room for improvement.  

Although he has improved as an offensive player, Giddey is still not anywhere near where he needs to be as a finisher at the rim, especially at his height. The fact that he finds a way to be a capable scorer despite this is a testament to Giddey's basketball IQ. He is still using his floater to shoot at a surprisingly decent clip around the short midrange area, but more importantly, he has become adept at using his frame to draw contact and get to the free throw line. Per Cleaning The Glass, Giddey is getting fouls on 15.1% of his shot attempts. His 5.4 free throw attempts per game this season are a career-high by over 2.0 FTAs per game. 

It's impossible to say Giddey is a finished product at 23-years old, but offensively, there may not be much growth left outside of some improved shotmaking in the paint.

If you go back and look at Giddey's two "steals" against the Timberwolves in the Bulls Thursday night win, you will notice that they were more about being at the right place at the right time after someone else made the initial play. Usually I would use that to discredit a player, only, Giddey has a knack for being at the right place at the right time, to the point where it is no longer a coincidence. Similar to his rebounding, Giddey simply has a nose for the ball that shows up on film. He is by no means a defensive player, but he tries hard on that end and has averaged at least a steal per game over both seasons in Chicago (assuming his 1.0 SPG this year holds up). 

The biggest reason the Chicago defense can survive with Giddey on the floor is that he is an elite rebounder for his position. It is not a stretch to say that Josh Giddey is the best rebounding point guard in the NBA. He is averaging 8.8 RPG, and possesses a 20.6% defensive rebound rate that ranks in the 100th (!!) percentile for PGs per Cleaning The Glass. 

Giddey may get beat off the dribble at a decent rate, but he doesn't commit silly fouls, and routinely ends possessions with his defensive rebounding prowess. In one of the more shocking figures I have seen over my research, Cleaning The Glass has the Bulls defense as 2.5 points per possessions better when Giddey is on the floor. Giddey knows his game well and sticks to it. Using his height to contest shots while making sure not be overzealous in getting back to his man once he is beat, has made him into a decent enough defender on a team that shouldn't be depending on him for that skillset in the first place.