As Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso did some light pregame warmup activities, the Oklahoma City Thunder have seen their lengthy list of injuries finally catch up to them. They’ve dropped two home games in a row for the first time in three years.

The short-handed Thunder had a pair of bad losses to the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors. A single-possession margin decided both. The reigning NBA champions had moments down the stretch to get a morale-boost win, but came up short in the clutch.

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Because of the state of things, Ousmane Dieng has received some new life. Buried in the depth chart, he played legitimate rotation minutes. He had seven points and two rebounds in their loss to the Pacers and was a plus-17 in their loss to the Raptors.

Amid Shai Gilgeous-Alexander desperately needing help from the scoring department, Dieng has done his part. He’s shown some on-ball creation. You can see him play within the flow of the offense. He’s also held his own on the defensive end thanks to his size.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has been impressed with Dieng. OKC fans have campaigned for him to get more minutes during this depleted phase of the season. The 22-year-old has struggled with consistency his entire NBA career, but it feels like everything is starting to come together.

“He’s definitely made strides. I think he’s improved his shooting. I think his floor game has improved as he’s just getting more comfortable, as things have slowed down,” Daigneault said. “Done a good job on his body. He’s improved his motor over time.”

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With the NBA trade deadline a few weeks away, it feels like the Thunder will move on from Dieng. He’s in the final year of his contract. Considering they didn’t extend him this past offseason, that was a telltale sign of where things were heading.

A shame, too. Dieng never really had an honest shot in OKC. A combination of injuries, long-term development and the Thunder ascending faster than anybody could’ve predicted has caused him to be on the outside looking in for his entire career.

Maybe a new NBA home is the type of fresh start Dieng needs. If and when he’s dealt, he’s gotta show enough good tape to warrant a second contract in the league. But he’s shown enough flashes to garner another try elsewhere.

“He hasn’t cracked the rotation consistently, but he’s still a guy that has grown in the program,” Daigneault said. “He’s done a really good job attacking what we’ve put in front of him.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How Ousmane Dieng has impressed Thunder in recent stretch