I Can’t Believe The Thunder Did This…

I Can’t Believe The Thunder Did This…

a week ago I made a video breaking down the Alex Caruso trade and in that video I talked about how the Thunder are going in an interesting Direction with their team building instead of focusing on weaknesses and looking for ways to clear them up adding Caruso was a direct Improvement to their biggest strength that being their aggression on defense and how they’re constantly making plays on the ball I also mentioned what I felt to be their biggest weakness as a team last year which really came to light in the play playoffs against the Mavs in my opinion it was their lack of size physicality and inability to close or extend possessions on the glass that played the biggest role in their demise so how did they respond by signing Isaiah hartenstein who not only checks these boxes but is legitimately one of the best in the league when it comes to doing the dirty work it all starts with his size he’s officially listed at 7 ft tall not one of those fake s Footers that are all over the league meaning he’s just 1 in shorter than Chad however he’s nearly 50 lb heavier so we’re talking about a completely different physical makeup he pairs that large frame with surprisingly agile feet and sharp hands which has turned him into an elite defender in the post this is really important as the best post scorer since Shaquille O’Neal justo happens to be competing in the Western Conference the Thunder caught a break in last year’s bracket not having to go through Denver but had they matched up with jic they just simply wouldn’t have the bodies to throw his way Chad Jay will he’s too big and physical for those guys but hartenstein now gives them some really nice resistance but that’s just one opponent what about other contenders like Dallas or Minnesota well those offenses tend to run a lot of pick and roll looking to create going downhill which is where Haren Stein’s abilities as a rim protector make a huge difference I mentioned the size and Agility he pairs that with constant activity and great positioning in the paint to really alter shots around the basket last season he defended over 400 attempts within 6 ft of the basket and held players to more than 11% below their typical average that held up in the playoffs as well holding players to about 10% below average on 79 attempts a Mark that would put him among some of the best Rim protectors in the game I say some because the best of the best were able to reach another level one of those being his new teammate Chad holgren in the regular season he held opponents to a relatively similar 11.4% below average although he contested about 200 more shots and in the playoffs that was up to nearly 15% while contesting nearly 100 attempts he also happened to lead the playoffs in blocks averaging 2 and 1 half per game and all that’s to say the Thunder now have two of the best paint defenders in the league what makes this so intriguing is the prospect of the two potentially sharing the floor Chad is already one of the best drop defenders in basketball his size length and Mobility when paired with perfect positioning have turned him into a massive deterrent and a oneman pick and roll defense the thing is against Dallas he was forced to either hedge or Blitz most actions as a result of Luca and Kyrie’s pressure then on the backline they were relying on guys like Shay or even Isaiah Joe to protect the rim now imagine if that was hartenstein roaming the floor a 7t vertical presence who knows when and where to be at all times that’s a GameChanger or imagine if it was the inverse with chat playing free safety and cleaning up around the basket because in addition to altering shots Haren Stein’s a very good pick and roll Defender who can execute all types of different coverages I keep going back to the and Mobility those are the keys but remember I also said he has sharp hands he’ll reach at ball handlers take away pocket passes blow up lobs meaning he can drop or play at the level which completely unleashes Chad as a Giannis type of Defender behind the play so right away you have a synergistic effect between the two bigs with either one capable of serving as a four or five On Any Given play and then I think it goes without saying that one of the two will always be on the the floor so they’re getting 48 minutes of highquality starting center caliber basketball which we just saw play a massive role in the Mavs making a trip to the finals the one thing that I do think hartenstein lacks in comparison to some of the League’s best defensive centers is that he isn’t a great defensive rebounder which ironically enough is what started this discussion in the first place OKC struggled to close possessions in both the first and second rounds and fixing that was clearly a point of emphasis for them what I want to make very clear though is that just because he’s not a great defensive rebounder relative to other centers doesn’t mean he doesn’t make a difference here he’s still huge still great positionally still constantly looking to put a body on potential offensive rebounders and will undoubtedly improve them in this regard All Things Considered I really wouldn’t be surprised if they come out next year looking like a Minnesota level defense last year they gave up about 112 points every 100 possessions good for fourth in the NBA and their first two offseason moves were to trade for arguably the best defensive guard in the league and a highlevel defensive Center who Shores up probably their biggest weakness essentially they were within Arms Reach of having the number two defense and replaced Josh Giddy and jayen Williams with Alex Caruso and Isaiah hartenstein if that doesn’t move you I don’t I don’t know what will oh yeah and don’t forget about the fact that Cas Wallace will also be a year older I don’t think anyone really has any concerns with the defense though it seems pretty unanimous that they’re going to be an elite defensive team and where people start to question the fit is on offense particularly with what Harten Stein’s addition means for their signature 5 out let’s be clear he’s not going to start shooting threes so get that out of your head right now but I actually think they can still simulate a five out with him on the floor due to two key skills think about the Kings for a second sabonis isn’t a shooter yet most possessions start with Five Guys on the perimeter and that’s because he’s operating in the middle of the floor as an offensive Hub I’m not saying ihart is domas but he’s got the same two standout traits those being passing and screening ability he can initiate possessions from up top whether that’s some set off Ball action dribble handoffs and he’s also a really good connector which allowed him to make an immense offensive impact in New York here’s a look at the offensive rating of the 2024 Knicks in three different situations here’s what it looked like when Brunson was on the floor without iHeart as one of the best shot creators on the planet he’s going to produce results now here’s what it looked like with iHeart and that’s because in addition to the pick and roll and ISO game he brought that other dimension of movement extra passing handoffs which Diversified their attack and made them that much tougher to defend just for good measure here’s how they looked without either one on the floor more as a shout out to the heavy lifting that Jaylen was doing I think he can have a similar impact in OKC incorporating more movement and versatility to their offense which I think will positively influence most of the guys on the roster if you remember in that series against Dallas shooters were left open to clog the paint there was very little movement and it resulted in Shay having to play herob ball and score from the mid-range like Prime Michael Jordan just for his team to have a chance jdub struggled to create advantages Chet’s numbers were down Shooters weren’t getting as many advantageous touches and by incorporating some more action with a passing Hub in the middle of the floor the supporting guys can have a lot more involvement so while the spacing may not look quite the same as the traditional 5 out I still think there are ways to open up the paint with him on the court while he also brings a couple other skills that they didn’t previously have first is the offensive rebounding he averaged 4.9 offensive rebounds every 75 possessions his knack for reading the ball off the rim his effort level his sharp hands all allow him to generate Second Chance opportunities at a near League best rate and that number actually went up to five in the playoffs corresponding with an increase in minutes and proving that this can translate to higher level basketball the other thing I want to mention in his Arsenal is his use of the floater which could turn out to be a bigger tool than I think people realize his push shot is absolute money probably only second to yic which is such a perfect pairing with Shay’s attack remember how I mentioned they ran into some trouble when Dallas packed the paint and Shay had to fall back on the mid-range imagine if by his side he had another guy who could produce 50 to 60% shots from as far out as 10 ft whether it’s in the pick and roll flashing out of the dunker spot his push shot serves as an awesome counter to bigs who overplay either the ball or the rim and I can’t wait to see it used as an outlet for Shay’s downhill attack basically what I’m getting at with all of this is the fact that Isaiah hartenstein to put it simply is an incredibly high impact player during his two years with the Knicks the team had a plus 7.4 net rating with him on the floor and fell to just a slight positive in the 4,400 minutes without him I understand why people have concerns with his fit in their five out offense and what chat playing the four could mean for his development but I like how it gives them options to me there are four starters locked in those of course being Shay Caruso jdub and Chad that fifth spot can go in three wildly different directions and maybe match up the pendent against a team like Denver or Minnesota where they need size and rebounding iHeart feels like the obvious option against the team like Dallas where they might need another point of attack Defender out there they could go with Lou Dort and if their offense isn’t producing up to par they could start a highlevel shooter like Isaiah Joe as for where I stand on the team overall I’m not sure I could get much higher like I said they nearly had a top two defense and I think they got considerably better to the point where they might even be number one they also had the number three offense and I don’t think they got any worse maybe even a little better with some new Dynamics and Player Development they won 57 games had the one seed and bowed out in a tough second round Series in their first playoff run as a unit I’m not sure if this is a hot take but if I were making preseason power rankings at this exact moment OKC would be my number one team out west and number two in the league overall behind just the Celtics and I absolutely cannot wait to see how they look at the start of the season if you enjoyed this breakdown make sure to drop a like subscribe and turn my post notifications on to be first on more content if you’re interested in my more in-depth research make sure to check out my website and social media profiles you can find those links in the description feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of the Thunder as always I hope you all have a great day and I’ll catch you guys in the next one

After a 57 win season that earned them the 1 seed, the OKC Thunder have arguably improved on both ends after signing Isaiah Hartenstein.

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