Thunder Mailbag: A 12-4 Start, But Frontcourt Questions Remain

Answering the three best questions submitted to this week’s mailbag.

Nov 20, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) fights for a loose ball with Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III (35) and forward Jerami Grant (9) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

It's been an interesting season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have faced significant injuries early in the season. Most notably, Chet Holmgren will be sidelined for multiple months which has left a huge void in the Thunder's rotation.

With that in mind, reinforcements are also coming soon, with Isaiah Hartenstein making his regular season debut on Wednesday night. Even then, there are still questions to be answered within the frontcourt rotation. Oklahoma City is 12-4 entering four days of rest, so it's a good time to evaluate the current state of the team.

Let’s answer the three best questions that were submitted for this week’s mailbag:

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What does OKC do without Chet Holmgren?

Well, as we’ve seen over the past two weeks — it’s all about playing small. The Thunder went 3-3 in the games without Chet Holmgren following the injury, but won its one and only contest since Isaiah Hartenstein became active. Even with him back in the fold, expect OKC to play very small. In the minutes that Hartenstein sits, there still aren’t many options for this Thunder team to play big. The small lineups were inconsistent before Hartenstein came back into the rotation, but there were plenty of moments in which that concept proved effective. Regardless, this is a team that has the talent to maintain a top-four seed in the Western Conference until Holmgren returns. 

Will the small ball lineup work against some of the elite big men?

The reality is that the most elite big men in the league will thrive no matter what lineups are thrown at them. Even when Holmgren was healthy, players like Nikola Jokic were able to make a huge impact on the floor. Again, Hartenstein is now available and will bring a new dimension to this team — so expect less small ball against those elite bigs — but there’s not a lot OKC can do against the best of the best. The same goes for opponents against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

If OKC ends up being a big buyer at the deadline, what do you think would happen to force that? Are there any specific players you’d like to see the Thunder target?

Historically, Thunder GM Sam Presti has proven to be willing to buy at the deadline if the price is right. That will also be the case this season. For Oklahoma City to make a big splash it would likely be because Holmgren’s injury recovery is taking longer than expected or the team needs a spark to get back into the race for a top-six seed until the 7-footer’s later return. This Thunder team is talented enough to win a championship with this current roster if fully healthy, so the catalyst to making a big splash would be the injury situation. To answer the second question, if Oklahoma City did make a big splash, I think Cam Johnson and Bobby Portis would fit this roster very well and make a significant difference in a title run. 

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Note: Questions may be paraphrased in order to group or aggregate similar submissions.

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