In a do-or-die situation, the Oklahoma City Thunder turned to their old reliable. They returned Isaiah Hartenstein as a starter and sent Cason Wallace to the bench. Even though they beat the Indiana Pacers in a Game 4 thriller, the starting lineup remains a question.
The single-big lineup was a great move to make for the first two games. Chet Holmgren has played like his best basketball at center. The Thunder beat the Pacers twice in the regular season with it. Albeit it was with Hartenstein, as Holmgren was out in both matchups.
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The data made it the right preemptive move. But that backfired. Wallace has struggled on both ends in the NBA Finals. His playing time has dwindled. Mark Daigneault returned to Hartenstein and the starting lineup that won them three playoff rounds.
Despite that, the Thunder got off to another slow start. They fell behind 20-12 to start. As OKC mounted a comeback, they went away with Hartenstein and had Alex Caruso close with the other four starters. For Hartenstein, the role change presented no problem.
“I think he does a great job communicating throughout the season, throughout the playoffs what situations he’s going to put you in. So I don’t think you ever go in guessing,” Hartenstein said on his conversations with Daigneault. “Even before this series started, he sat down with me and talked to me about it. I think he does a great job communicating that aspect.”
It’ll be interesting to see who the Thunder start for an important Game 5. If they can go up 3-2 against the Pacers, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for the first time in the NBA Finals. You likely run back a similar gameplan where Hartenstein starts but Caruso closes if the game comes down to the final moments again.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Isaiah Hartenstein reacts to being starter in Game 4 win over Pacers