As the Oklahoma City Thunder build a 3-1 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, it’s become loudly obvious that this is a series that favors the first seed to go small and play Chet Holmgren at center.
That put Isaiah Hartenstein in an awkward spot. He’s thrived with the Thunder and logged a career season as a double-double machine. OKC leaned on the double-big lineup for its go-to starters when healthy. But the NBA playoffs are all about matchups.
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Against the Timberwolves, Hartenstein has seen his playing time dwindle due to his poor matchup. He only played 16 minutes in Game 4. The Thunder went with Alex Caruso over Hartenstein to start the second half. The decision paid off for Mark Daigneault as OKC collected a close win over Minnesota.
“We’re going to need Hart. He’s really impactful for us. We took a look at some different things defensively tonight by downsizing. We thought that would give us some offensive fluidity as well, which it did. But you know how these series go. Every game is different,” Daigneault said. “That wasn’t the plan going in. Play that small the entire game but the way the game was unfolding and the way we were able to get some of our stuff with the smaller lineups, we decided to stick with it.”
This might not be a preferable playoff series for Hartenstein, but he showed his worth against the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets. Both had talented frontcourts that the seven-footer helped cancel out on the boards and in paint touches.
Daigneault has talked all season about how seamless of a fit Hartenstein has been in their culture. Being able to play a smaller role against the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals is the latest example of that. The big-time free agent addition has been well worth his expensive deal and then some.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault says OKC Thunder will need Isaiah Hartenstein