Key Highlights
- Throughout the second spherical of the playoffs, the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder held a plus-5.3 internet ranking with Chet Holmgren on the ground and a minus-15.0 internet ranking when he was on the bench
- The Thunder completed twenty seventh in offensive rebounding price final season, whereas Isaiah Hartenstein ranked within the 92nd percentile individually
- Hartenstein was within the seventieth percentile in help price amongst large males, per Cleansing the Glass
Apart from their top-three offense torpedoing right into a crunched-up slog, the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s playoff demise was headlined by an incapability to remain float at any time when Chet Holmgren sat. Throughout their second-round, six-game defeat, they outscored the Dallas Mavericks by 21 factors throughout Holmgren’s 216 minutes and had been outscored by 21 factors in 72 minutes with out him (-20.3 internet ranking swing, per NBA.com).
So, as soon as free company commenced earlier this month, they sought to deal with that deficiency at backup 5 by touchdown Isaiah Hartenstein on a three-year, $87 million deal (staff choice for the third yr). But Hartenstein’s hefty price ticket and 2023-24 emergence — following many seasons of intriguing play in a smaller position — proved he’s far too good for merely that designation.
Occupying a beginning gig for many of final season whereas sitting central to the New York Knicks’ success, his protection, playmaking, screening and rebounding established him among the many league’s higher facilities. After all, he isn’t superior to Holmgren, an ascending 22-year-old who seems imminently primed for stardom. But when afforded sufficient rope, the 26-year-old will help significantly treatment a few of Oklahoma Metropolis’s different shortcomings, together with rebounding, screening and three-point quantity.
His arrival ensures the Thunder experience 48 minutes of high-level middle play. Hardly ever will one among Holmgren or Hartenstein not be on the ground. His arrival must also assure a spot within the beginning 5.
Both Luguentz Dort or Alex Caruso would come off the bench. Though Caruso is the higher participant, his harm historical past and Dort’s reference to the franchise will doubtless earn him the nod at taking pictures guard. The playoffs are the precedence, so maintaining Caruso upright should be the target. There shall be matchups the place downsizing is most well-liked, however the baseline quintet ideally options Holmgren and Hartenstein collectively. It’s the best path to fixing weak hyperlinks that cropped up for the Thunder in sure common season video games and versus Dallas.
One of many elements defining Oklahoma Metropolis’s second-round foibles was its poor on-ball passing. It is a superb connective passing staff, however with Dallas loading the strong-side and zoning up correctly on the weak-side, it couldn’t flip the ground to take advantage of that tactic. Drive-and-kick is about spinning the protection into rotation and the Thunder failed to realize that, partly due to their passing limitations.
Neither Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nor Jalen Williams had the gusto to weave passes round all the dimensions the Mavericks threw their path. Holmgren, for all his two-way exploits, will not be a sturdy inside-the-arc operator who features as a playmaking hub. Hartenstein does.
In response to Cleansing the Glass, he positioned within the seventieth percentile in help price amongst bigs final season (12.7 p.c) and his 7-foot-1 stature is a real device. It permits him to see excessive and execute reads that the Thunder’s perimeter initiators usually uncared for in spherical two. They’ve missed this form of path to pivot towards offensively. Hartenstein will current it.
Taking part in via him would require a shift away from Oklahoma Metropolis’s drive-and-kick, five-out strategy. Even when the five-out ethos is sustained, there can be an adjustment to offer a non-spacing risk substantial obligations. The premise of its assault final season was emphasizing touches for dribble-pass-shoot dudes and surrounding them with succesful drive-and-shoot cogs (Josh Giddey apart, therefore his playoff benching and subsequent departure).
Hartenstein is a savvy facilitator with extra off-the-dribble juice than assumed, but he’s not an out of doors shooter or a driving large like Holmgren. Slotting him at middle would transfer Holmgren to the 4 and rearrange his offensive utilization and placement. Lengthy-term, the aim is presumably to maintain Holmgren at middle, however letting him develop his mismatch scoring in opposition to 4s relatively than 5s — given his energy deficit — may work within the interim, too.
Spotlighting a 7-footer with playmaking verve might assist improve the Thunder’s lengthy vary quantity. Regardless of being third in three-point share, they had been simply twenty first in three-point price. There was cumbersome hesitancy with their shooters. Lots of them had been wired to drive off the catch relatively than firing — specifically, Williams and Aaron Wiggins — that Dallas acknowledged and focused. The chances portrayed them as an elite taking pictures group, whereas the movie instructed in any other case.
A tweak in mindset is critical. Hartenstein’s passing means and luxury flipping the court docket at his dimension must be boons, however they aren’t wholesale options. The shooters must embrace bombing away extra commonly; their numbers are too good for in any other case.
His distributing nonetheless offers a special, welcomed wrinkle. Final yr’s five-out alignment masked playmaking deficiencies. Hartenstein isn’t only a tall man with a little bit of deft contact. He’s a legit passer in numerous varieties. Oklahoma Metropolis sports activities shrewd cutters. Faucet into that extra. Encourage them to chop and obtain feeds from Hartenstein relatively than solely to spark threes or snare passes from slashing ball-handlers.
It additionally dabbled with dunker spot utilization within the playoffs. Hartenstein is a wonderful dump-off passer. Taking part in him on the 5 and Holmgren as a 4 periodically lurking within the quick corners would possibly diversify the offense. Maybe, his addition doesn’t alter the three-point quantity as a lot because it creates extra possibilities across the basket (sixteenth in rim frequency through the common season, thirteenth within the playoffs). Both incidence sounds profitable.
Hartenstein isn’t a Nikola Jokic-level orchestrator. Gilgeous-Alexander is among the many NBA’s chief engines. He, together with Williams, will dominate the motion. There’s going to loads of time Hartenstein operates off the ball. It’s one other adjustment that (rightfully) granting him important minutes will immediate: crafting easy offense with a non-shooting middle taking part in heavy minutes. Even when he will get again to experimenting a bit as a stretch large, really garnering defensive consideration takes time and outcomes (he’s 27-of-87, 31 p.c in six seasons).
However the lack of taking pictures doesn’t render him an off-ball legal responsibility. Routinely discovering house out and in of the paint, he’s an alert mover. Whether or not it’s producing open pictures for himself or others, there are penalties of ignoring him or extending him room/angles to make use of. The Knicks sometimes slotted him within the reverse nook, which baited defenses into sagging off earlier than the offense flung the ball his manner and initiated dribble handoffs. I particularly like this for Oklahoma Metropolis if Isaiah Joe is the recipient.
On and off the ball, there are a viable assortment of abilities he gives that make it tough to punish his minimal scoring arsenal by guarding him 4-on-5. He’ll display, he’ll transfer, he’ll drive, he’ll move. All of it might ease the assimilation for each himself and the Thunder, and be parts of the offense at any time when he’s not the point of interest.
Readily obvious through the second spherical was Oklahoma Metropolis’s want for a superb screen-setter. It’s not one among Holmgren’s standout attributes. That left the creation burden squarely on Gilgeous-Alexander’s shoulders in opposition to a rangy, linked protection and congested paint. Williams was not ready to successfully pilot offense in that sequence both. Hartenstein ought to simplify life for everybody together with his burly, perceptive screening, cognizant of when to implement contact and when to slide.
In response to NBA.com, he was 14th in display assists per recreation through the common season (3.5) and third through the playoffs (5.1). He’s a hulking impediment who holds agency or audibles the angle primarily based on no matter’s wanted most. He’ll spring unfastened off-ball shooters and ignite alternatives in pick-and-rolls.
It’s one other trait of his that would increase the Thunder’s three-point numbers if he’s producing separation for his or her bevy of shooters with pindowns, flares and on-ball screens. Perhaps, his off-ball picks are a decoy at instances, opening drives for Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams to grease the offense. An elite screener surrounded by a dynamite offensive expertise, a slippery secondary handler, and bountiful taking pictures is a devious weapon.
Whereas some screeners of Hartenstein’s caliber are quick on a lot offensive utility — which hamstrings their minutes and utilization — Hartenstein isn’t. His involvement doesn’t must pause after the display. His playmaking is all the time there in opposition to traps or overloaded defenses. He’s a launch valve scorer together with his floater. In response to Cleansing the Glass, he ranked within the 89th percentile from quick midrange final season, changing 54 p.c of his appears; over the 2 prior years, he hit 52 p.c of them.
It’s a pesky little shot, each out of ball screens or relocating from the dunker spot throughout paint touches. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams (to a lesser extent) are methodical handlers who personal a penchant for the midrange. Their latest middle enhances that fashion.
If utilized keenly, he can lead the cost in blotting out lots of Oklahoma Metropolis’s weaknesses. His offensive rebounding is doubtlessly his foremost talent. He’s completed within the 89th percentile or higher the previous two seasons, whereas the Thunder had been twenty seventh amongst 30 groups in 2023-24.
Their aversion to second possibilities is a byproduct of sprawling transition protection (third in lowest opposing frequency final yr). However Hartenstein touts an actual knack for the ball and may lug them up from the pits with out ushering in systemic change.
That acumen may deter groups from switching or stashing smaller defenders on Hartenstein in an goal to allocate their dimension elsewhere. The Mavericks pinned lesser defenders on Holmgren within the second spherical as a result of he couldn’t punish them. Hartenstein isn’t an adept scorer, however he’s a dominant offensive rebounder. That may solely be amplified going through mismatches. His one-man clean-up crew will behoove a downhill-determined staff that led the league in drives per recreation by a large margin final season (452 greater than second place).
He’s dependable patrolling the opposite aspect of the glass too, putting among the many 61st percentile or higher in defensive rebounding price the final two seasons. Oklahoma Metropolis was twenty ninth general in 2023-24. Hartenstein will buoy that rank, together with all the protection.
He and Holmgren had been two of the league’s more practical rim protectors final season. In response to NBA.com, opposing gamers shot 11.4 p.c beneath their common on discipline targets inside 6 ft when Holmgren was the closest defender. When it was Hartenstein, they shot 11.2 p.c worse. These marks ranked sixth and seventh amongst 157 gamers who contested a minimum of 4 such pictures per recreation. One or each of them goes to be on the ground virtually on a regular basis subsequent yr!
Holmgren has cemented himself as a premier 1-on-2 defender in drop protection, able to dancing between ball-handler and curler. Hartenstein is an excellent ball-screen defender as nicely, most harmful taking part in close to the extent or in excessive drop. He’s gentle on his ft, a looming inside deterrent and wields extraordinarily dexterous fingers.
The choice to tab both as the first large defender whereas the opposite stays low ought to promote versatility and aggression. Oklahoma Metropolis already led the league in opposing turnover price final yr and would possibly actually distance itself after bringing in Hartenstein and Caruso. Hartenstein completed within the ninetieth percentile in steal price and 74th percentile in block price. He’s snug on the perimeter and in house off the ball, and excels as a defensive anchor.
Holmgren seeing prolonged minutes on the 4 will necessitate a studying curve. There are completely different defensive obligations. The burgeoning abilities league-wide amongst 4s may power him into extra on-ball perimeter duties than conventional large man duties. But the enchantment and potentialities alongside Hartenstein appear so intriguing.
Final yr, there was no technique to deviate and play large for lengthy spurts. Now, they’ll. It ought to develop into much less of an alternate and extra of the norm. Their expertise, malleability and ceiling have elevated. They are going to rebound and shield the rim higher, whereas nonetheless turning groups over at an absurd price. They renovated snazzy elements of the boat and plugged a leak.
The perimeter group of Caruso, Dort, Williams, Wiggins, Joe, Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace is stout sufficient to insulate whichever large is low. Pre-switch most actions. Stash the supersized 4 on the creakiest offensive participant. Allow a roamer. Particular opponents won’t have a evident gap (a la the reigning champion Boston Celtics), however that dimension and defensive influence remains to be irritating. Hartenstein’s rebounding and low man prowess would possibly imply he’s finest suited to the job. Conserving Holmgren in ball-screens defensively isn’t a problem anyway.
Final season, the Thunder’s abundance of perimeter abilities got here on the expense of dimension. Often, that’s related to defensive concessions. For them, although, these concessions primarily manifested offensively. Hartenstein maintains the theme of ball abilities, whereas instilling essential, newfound components together with his body.
Having fun with the advantages of his signing is easy. He’ll again up Holmgren and play 15-18 superior minutes nightly. Maximizing his signing calls for extra — much less of any grand overhaul and extra a couple of versatile identification.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams ceding a little bit of management on the ball. Extra time for Hartenstein to facilitate the offense. Extra rolling relatively than popping in ball-screens. Extra horizontal motion, dribble handoffs and off-ball screens. Holmgren navigating life as a 4. Credible shooters excising timidity from their line of considering.
This roster is as much as the duty. Among the basis exists from Jaylin Williams‘ offensive utilization final season. The Thunder will doubtless be large irrespective of how Hartenstein is carried out. He and they’re ok. However they are often way more than their 2023-24 selves if everybody aces this pairing. That’s the place the true problem resides, and what’s most vital transferring ahead.