After the incredible offseason by the Thunder, with the additions of added Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, they are expected to be one of the best teams in the NBA this year. However, before they can build on the season they had last year, the Thunder have to get through four preseason games. They are scheduled to play on October 7th, 9th, 15th, and 17th before their season opener on October 24th against Denver. With the preseason starting up for the Thunder, here are four things to keep an eye on.
Oklahoma City Thunder Preseason: Four Things to Watch
New Thunder Players Making Their Debuts
Thunder fans couldn’t wait to see Hartenstein and Caruso make their season debuts when they were added to the roster. Now, they will finally see how the Thunder plan on utilizing them during the season. However, they aren’t the only new players making their debuts for the Thunder. Dillon Jones, Ajay Mitchell, and Alex Ducas are other notable players who will make their debut in the preseason. Mitchell and Ducas are on two-way deals, so it will be interesting to see how much playing time they get in the preseason. However, with the Thunder already losing Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams for the entire preseason, they may see more playing time.
As for Dillon Jones, he can play positions one through four and, if he wants to, fight for minutes in the rotation this year. He is going to have to show that versatility in the preseason. With Caruso and Hartenstein set to be key contributors this year, they most likely won’t play a ton of minutes in the preseason. However, Thunder fans will get a glimpse of how they will fit with the team in the limited minutes they play. For Hartenstein, the fit with the team will be more of a question mark with the five-out offense the Thunder like to deploy. However, there are signs in training camp pointing to more outside shooting from Hartenstein.
Isaiah Hartenstein was asked about shooting 3s in camp:
“I’ve been shooting ‘em. Just getting back in a rhythm.
“Mark is giving me the confidence. He wants me to shoot ‘em.” pic.twitter.com/4RodqvBXbr
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) October 3, 2024
Thunder Starting Lineup and Rotations
The biggest question mark coming from this Thunder team is who will be the starting five. There are many different routes this team can go with the starters, and hopefully, Thunder fans will get an answer to this during the preseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are locked into the first unit. Lu Dort should also be a starter, as he has been with this core for the last four seasons. That just leaves one open spot that could go to Caruso, Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, or even Cason Wallace.
However, with how deep this team is and how versatile it can be this year, their starters could very well depend on the matchup. If they play a team that deploys two bigs, Hartenstein could be in the starting lineup. It could be Caruso and Wallace in the starting lineup on a different night. Finally, if they need more shooting, Joe could be the starter. It will be interesting to see if the Thunder deploy just one starting lineup for the whole season or a matchup-based lineup that changes from game to game.
Alex Caruso and Lu Dort Dynamic
Lu Dort has been the Thunder’s primary point-of-attack defender for the last five seasons. However, the team adding Caruso this offseason gives them another option to use as a point-of-attack defender. With them being on the court together, the Thunder have arguably the best defensive duo in the entire NBA. However, the question becomes, who will be guarding the best player? Will the Thunder have Lu Dort guard the best player like they have in the last couple of years, or will they pivot and let Caruso take that matchup? There can also be the case, just like the starting lineup, that it will depend on the matchup.
Alex Caruso and Lu Dort offer different things on the defensive side. If they are playing the Warriors and need someone quicker to guard Steph Curry, they could have Caruso cover him. Then, if they are playing the Mavericks or Timberwolves with Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards, they could have Dort be the primary defender who offers more physicality. It will be interesting to see how the Thunder plan to utilize the duo of Dort and Caruso on the defensive end and who their assignment will be.
Minutes Between Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren
The last thing Thunder fans should be watching out for this preseason is Hartenstein and Holmgren. One of the biggest questions heading into the year was how the minutes with Hartenstein and Holmgren would look with them on the court. There isn’t a concern about the fit on defense, as they both should complement each other and their strengths. However, it is the offensive end that people are worried about.
Hartenstein is not a floor spacer, and Chet struggled at times when opposing teams covered him with a smaller, quicker defender. They both will have to figure out how to overcome these weaknesses on the offensive end for this combination to work. They will most likely not share the floor too much in the preseason, but expect Mark Daigneault to play them together to see how the dynamic works.
The Last Word
This is the deepest team the Thunder has ever had in their history, as fans are very optimistic about what this season could look like. The Thunder have positioned themselves in the best possible way this offseason as they are looking to hold up the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time.
