Oklahoma City has been playing a serious role lately, and a win over the Hawks Wednesday night would put the team .500. Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the catalyst for the Thunder’s success as a team this season. His leap to the next level has given this Thunder team a new gear. He averages 30.7 points per game, shoots 50.9% from the floor and dominates OKC’s offense.
The advances made by the supporting cast were also notable. Since the start of the season, players across the board have improved with playing time.
Josh Giddey plays like a top 3 sophomore in the NBA, and Jalen Williams has a serious shot at making the All Rookie First team. Kenrich Williams was crucial in OKC’s recent run, playing what feels like all five positions in the lineup. Isaiah Joe looks like the largest free agent signing in Thunder history over four months with the team, sitting at 44.7% from 3-point range.
Despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s exploits, Oklahoma City’s improvement is certainly a full team effort. The Thunder have many different options that can play.
With so much young talent in Oklahoma City, finding enough minutes to get around can be difficult. The Thunder are in a groove with no real center point in the lineup, playing Kenny Hustle and elite makeshift basketball Mike Muscala Rotate in the front yard. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Alexei Pokusevski have now been paused for quite some time, freeing up rotation minutes for the time being.
Lottery tip for beginners Ousmane Dieng returned to the Blues last week after a lengthy injury layoff and has already been called up to the Thunder. If Pokusevski and/or Robinson Earl are close to a return to the pitch, the Thunder could have a serious blockage of rotation players earning minutes.
The problem with inconsistent rotations and still giving all 15 players a fair crack at game time is that it can lead to inconsistent results. Tre man has struggled at times this season, mostly when relegated as a spot up shooter or playing spot minutes. Darius Bazley has had ups and downs throughout the season but still has enough potential to pick up minutes here and there.
If Oklahoma City’s plan is development, it makes sense to play as many prospects as possible. But as the Thunder’s focus begins to shift to the playoffs, consistent bench rotation and shortening would be the NBA norm.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Dort and Jalen Williams have been the most consistent four-man pairing on the starting line-up of late, with the center spot changing. With the All-Star break approaching, all four players look like a pencil in the starting XI for the rest of the season. Both Kenrich Williams and Joe have demonstrated more than enough to earn real, consistent game time all along the track. Aside from that, however, Oklahoma City needs to figure out the minute distribution.
Mike Muscala appears to be the Thunder’s most consistent and realistic frontcourt option on the bench, and even with Robinson-Earl returning, Muscala’s post presence should still help.
Aaron Wiggins has been impressive all season and is emerging as one of the most underrated talents on the team. Dieng and Mann (and Robinson-Earl, Pokusevski, when healthy) have shown extreme flashes and will have a chance to cement a role off the bench before the end of the season begins.
The young talent will certainly have a hard time Markus Daigneault to shorten the bank.
Would you like to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the reporting.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/J4WA7JHJBRFMTM4RPSY2X33IIQ.jpg)
