Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Second Year Guard Key For Success

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Cason Wallace stuff the stat sheet in recent games. The second year guard is a key to success for the OKC Thunder.

Dec 10, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) gestures after scoring a three point basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City sits as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the second straight season, posting a 19-5 record to date. This mark is not without adversity, the Thunder are dripping with injuries, most notably Chet Holmgren being sidelined for the majority of the regular season with a hip fracture. Isaiah Hartenstein, Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe and Ousmane Dieng have all missed a chunk of time and two are still sidelined.

Yet, the Thunder have been able to lean on its depth to prop up the team through these injury hardships. Oklahoma City has been a team that relies on a next-man-up mentality, along with a unique ability in the modern NBA to get up for each contest.

However, regardless of the Thunder's injury report, its key to success will remain with second-year guard Cason Wallace.

This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Wallace, the sophomore is averaging seven points, three rebounds, two assists and nearly two steals per game, with shooting splits of 42/30/85.

In the past five games, Wallace is posting 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, over two steals and nearly a block per game. His shooting splits have jumped to 44 percent from the floor, 38 percent from 3-point land and 75 percent from the charity stripe on seldom attempts.

In that span, the Thunder are 4-1. Wallace is a defensive whiz kid, with a nose for the ball to come away with steals, deflections and disgruntle offenses. He is also capable of just shutting down a go-to scorer on the other side.

Offensively, Wallace plays off the Thunder's main stars at a high-level. Mainly due to his ability to run the floor in transition after Oklahoma City forces yet another turnover, and read the floor in the half-court floating to open space or cutting to the time.

That level of spacing is a requirement to get the best out of the Thunder's offense and when he is helping Lu Dort and company stifle offenses it sets a tone for the contest.

When Wallace is at his best, so are the Thunder. Oklahoma City needs role players to step up alongside superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star Jalen Williams, with Wallace being the best bet. Even away from those two, his on-ball prowess that sees him get downhill to open the floor to his point-guard background passing ability, boosts the secondary unit.

Sure, the second-year guard is buried among the Thunder talking points behind flashier headlines, but he is vital to Oklahoma City's success.

Stiles Points:

• Jalen Williams has cracked the early All-Star projections after a massive start to his third season.
• The OKC Thunder deployed the same defensive strategy against Luka Doncic as it did in the playoffs.
• Lu Dort believes the OKC Thunder will finish the job in the NBA Cup upon arriving in Vegas.
• Luka Doncic showered superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in prasie.
• The OKC thunder now have a date with the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup Semi-Finals, after the Rockets knocked off the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Warriors to punch its ticket to Vegas.

Song of the Day: Big in Dallas by Terry Stafford

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.