The Thunder’s exciting new starting lineup will have to wait because of I-Hart’s injury. The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hyped up as one of the top teams for the 2024/25 season. That comes after their excellent 2023/24 campaign, where they finished first in the Western Conference. However, people were also excited because they had a superb offseason when they traded for Alex Caruso and signed Isaiah Hartenstein.
I-Hart was a stellar addition to the team because it meant Chet Holmgren could move to his more natural power-forward role. The 26-year-old is also a fantastic glue guy for the Thunder because he sets rock-solid screens, passes well in the short roll, and rebounds the basketball well.
Unfortunately, that dynamic will have to wait because Hartenstein is out injured for at least the next five to six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his left hand, which leaves Coach Mark Daigneault in a dilemma.
Why losing Hartenstein is crucial for the Thunder
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, the Thunder’s system was built around having a complete starting five, with Isaiah starting at center and Chet at power forward.
During preseason, this worked well, as the team showed the pick-and-roll was working with Hartenstein as an offensive hub at times due to his underrated passing ability. He was also superb at finishing at the rim, as he could do it with authority by dunking or with finesse through his hook shots or floaters.
Defensively, I-Hart gave the team the physical bruiser they needed to match up against the league’s best centers. Players like Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic would usually dominate the Thunder frontcourt, but Hartenstein gave them the presence.
How OKC will line up without Hartenstein
The Thunder must revert to the 2023/24 system with Chet running as the center. This will not be a huge adjustment for the team because they have not played a regular season game with I-Hart yet, but it is still an adjustment regardless due to their preparations from Training Camp and preseason being scrapped.
If Jaylin Williams can recover from his injury in time for Opening Night, he will likely be the backup center to Holmgren. The Thunder will likely consider running a small-ball lineup, as they have discussed running Dillon Jones as a small-ball center in Training Camp. Ousmane Dieng could also be an option because he has the length to serve as a backup big.
Hartenstein’s injury is a big blow to the Thunder, as they will lose him for over a month. It halts OKC’s momentum, but as soon as he gets back, the road to championship contention is back on, in the meantime, Coach Daigneault will have to assess his options.
Related: Aaron Wiggins describes what makes I-Hart a great passer
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