Friday was a huge win for the league’s office. As the NBA attempts to make its in season tournament feel like a big deal, now in year three of the NBA Cup, they need great games to display as an attention grabber to show why this concept can really work.
The past three seasons have shown that the players take these games seriously, with the contests involving the Cup going back to the pool play stage, having more intensity, physicality and meaning than a typical regular season game that oftentimes feel stale and leave the door open to question how seriously each side is taking the tilt on a given night.
Now with the proof of concept that the players care, the league just has to make the fans care. It’s audience has to treat this even as if it is a big deal and eventually it will be.
The Semi Finals take place Saturday in Vegas. in the Eastern Conference game sees the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks battle it out while in the Western Conference the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs clash. These are two possible matchups the NBA world will be exposed to come April during the postseason.
Add to it Friday’s news. It started in the morning as Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was elevated to probable after missing multiple weeks due to a calf strain, with NBA fans rejoicing rightfully so despite the fact that head coach Mitch Johnson alluded to Wembanyama being on a pitch count.
The good news continued in the evening, as the Oklahoma City Thunder put out their initial injury report for Saturday’s game. That is when it was revealed starting big man Isaiah Hartenstein is set to make his return after being sidelined for the past six games due to a right soleus strain.
Defensive-Ace Cason Wallace is also active for this contest after leaving Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against the Phoenix Suns early due to an injury.
Now, the OKC Thunder are only missing Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe as well as rookies Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic in this battle. Joe is still dealing with a knee contusion as he will miss his fourth straight game.
With Hartenstein back in the fold, the 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder will have access to it’s primary starting lineup for the first time all season. The seven-footer’s first game missed was Jalen Williams’ season debut.
Now, it is expected that Mark Daigneault will deploy a first five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein in this semi final game.