The Oklahoma City Thunder are set to use the identical starting five for Game 2 of the NBA Finals that they deployed in Game 1. Prior to the series opener against the Indiana Pacers, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault made the unexpected choice to bench starting center Isaiah Hartenstein and start rookie guard Cason Wallace instead. Following their narrow loss in Game 1, OKC is sticking with Wallace in the starting unit.
The rationale behind moving Hartenstein to the bench was specifically to address the matchup challenges presented by the Indiana Pacers. Indiana has proven effective against teams using traditional large lineups throughout the postseason, leveraging their superior spacing and quickness. Entering Game 1, the Thunder opted for a proactive approach, removing their starting center to prevent the Pacers from exploiting that weakness. Hartenstein ended up playing only 17 minutes in the 111-110 defeat.
Conversely, Wallace saw significant playing time, logging 33 minutes with mixed results. The new starting combination had a positive plus/minus, winning their minutes by two points. However, the game was decided negatively during a period when the team used a very small, center-less lineup that included Wallace late in the contest. Wallace finished the game with six points, failing to make any of his three 3-point attempts, along with one steal, one block, one assist, and two rebounds.
For Wallace to maintain his position as a starter, he will need to improve his offensive output. The primary goal of benching Hartenstein was to facilitate better defensive matchups against Indiana`s quicker, smaller personnel. While Wallace helps in certain aspects, he faced difficulties in Game 1, particularly when switched onto bigger players like Pascal Siakam, who he struggled to contain. There was external discussion suggesting Alex Caruso might be a better alternative to Wallace due to his strength against larger opponents, but the team`s decision to stick with Wallace seemingly values his more reliable shooting.
The Thunder didn`t manage to generate their usual easy points from turnovers in Game 1. They need to develop a more consistent half-court offense, something that hasn`t been a strength outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Finals so far. For now, they are starting with Wallace, but it is likely they will experiment with different lineup combinations throughout the game and finish with the group that is having the most success on the court.
Jasper Hawthorne