We are pretty maleable. I almost guarantee that the starters will change game to game depending on who we are playing.
Absoluteliability
I think Mark/Sam have both made statements implying that our lineup will be flexible and depend on the matchup. *there hasnāt been an official declaration about that, but in the coach-speak media question answering way, theyāve both said things close to that.
mido0o0o
Ous.
Ibaka_flocka
Or hear me outā¦..it doesnāt matter who starts. Itās all about playing the matchups on the floor, playing the hot hands, and trying out new things. Marks going to be doing a bunch of different lineups all year
LoganH1219
Thereās a lot of debate going on here. Hereās the only way we can realistically settle this:
“allows chet to play pf” isn’t necessarily going to help the team. the team was good last year because chet is a center.
starting caruso provides spacing and makes the starting lineup absolutely devastating defensively, but makes the rebounding even worse than it was last year.
I could see a world where both come off the bench and still play big minutes, but someone else starts at the 4.
freighttrain6969
The real answer is that the starting line-up is going to change many times over the course of the year, and the play-offs line-up will change based on match-ups.
ofesfipf889534
Itāll change based on matchup
TeAkau_12
I think itāll change throughout the season but my guess is the preferred starting line up will be Shai, Caruso, Dort, Dub, Chet.
We had an elite starting 5 last year and that was with Giddey playing a role he wasnāt suited to. Now we have Caruso who fits that role perfectly so an elite starting 5 just got better and becomes more of a mismatch nightmare for the opposition because their center canāt guard Caruso the same way they could guard Giddey. We may give up size and rebounding but will create a lot of turnovers which will lead to easy points.
Tyd1re
Very fluid based on matchups.
android24601
Eh, I’m thinking it’s going to vary based on the matchup. When they elect to play small, Chet will probably scoot over to the 5
WooTerry
Itās I-Hart
NotMarkDaigneault
I think it changes based on match up. Small Ball Caruso. Tall Ball I-Hart.
YouWereBrained
I think it will be situational. TWolves? Startenstein.
Celtics? Staruso.
halleyy27
Bench Shai and start both of them.
DoughNutSack
Caruso makes the most sense. I think we will get the most out of the team by having one of Hartenstein or Chet on the floor at all times.
Doesn’t mean we won’t close some games with them both on the floor, I just feel our playstyle leans more toward 1 big unless we need to size up against bigger teams
SignificanceGood1801
If Caruso is that much bigger than I-Hart as shown in this picture, then the Thunder should start him!
TruckThunders00
I think minutes among Dort, Caruso, and Hart are going to change up depending on their matchups… But I think the starting 5 will remain the same no matter what. My theory is that never changing starting 5 hides your strategy a little bit.
But if we’re playing a team like Minnesota, I’d expect Hart to get more minutes.
If we’re playing the warriors, we’re probably giving Caruso more minutes.
We saw it happen a lot with Giddey. He would always start but his minutes would drop significantly based on matchups.
If I had to guess, I’d say the 5 are SGA, Dort, Caruso, Dub, Chet. I say this because it’s more similar to what they liked to start with last year. But I’m not that confident Hart won’t start either.
NOT_H1M
Iād personally prefer Alex starting
firstmadereddit
From what I’ve seen from coach we’re probably going to switch up a lot throughout the season and experiment to see what is the best fit. Of course it’ll change depending on which team we play so there may not be a set starting lineup besides the obvious SGA, Chet & J Dub
FIPYC
I think Ihart starts and Caruso off bench. However I could see them doing Caruso just to fill the Giddey Gap and keep the others the same. Would prefer Dort at the 2 and JDub at the 3 tho personally
CompetitiveProposal7
We been spoiled as a fan baseā¦ no more Reddit for me
a_pot_of_chili_verde
Matchup based
jslee0034
It doesnāt really matter
_WhenSnakeBitesUKry
No
houndsrthebest
I think it’s possible to start both or either one and start subbing at 3 or 4 minutes in instead of 3 or 4 minutes left of the first. Most likely start Ihart in that instance.
29 Comments
ĀæPor quĆ© no los dos?
Lineup is gonna be Shai, Dub/Dort, Hart and Chet.
We are pretty maleable. I almost guarantee that the starters will change game to game depending on who we are playing.
I think Mark/Sam have both made statements implying that our lineup will be flexible and depend on the matchup.
*there hasnāt been an official declaration about that, but in the coach-speak media question answering way, theyāve both said things close to that.
Ous.
Or hear me outā¦..it doesnāt matter who starts. Itās all about playing the matchups on the floor, playing the hot hands, and trying out new things. Marks going to be doing a bunch of different lineups all year
Thereās a lot of debate going on here. Hereās the only way we can realistically settle this:
Starting lineup:
PG: Nikola Topic (in a wheelchair)
SG: Chet Holmgren (on his knees)
SF: Jaylin Williams (for ESPNās sake)
PF: Cason Wallace (in platform boots)
C: Mark Daigneault (expect the unexpected)
6th Man: Alexiah Carutenstein (genetically fused together)
maybe neither?
“allows chet to play pf” isn’t necessarily going to help the team. the team was good last year because chet is a center.
starting caruso provides spacing and makes the starting lineup absolutely devastating defensively, but makes the rebounding even worse than it was last year.
I could see a world where both come off the bench and still play big minutes, but someone else starts at the 4.
The real answer is that the starting line-up is going to change many times over the course of the year, and the play-offs line-up will change based on match-ups.
Itāll change based on matchup
I think itāll change throughout the season but my guess is the preferred starting line up will be Shai, Caruso, Dort, Dub, Chet.
We had an elite starting 5 last year and that was with Giddey playing a role he wasnāt suited to. Now we have Caruso who fits that role perfectly so an elite starting 5 just got better and becomes more of a mismatch nightmare for the opposition because their center canāt guard Caruso the same way they could guard Giddey. We may give up size and rebounding but will create a lot of turnovers which will lead to easy points.
Very fluid based on matchups.
Eh, I’m thinking it’s going to vary based on the matchup. When they elect to play small, Chet will probably scoot over to the 5
Itās I-Hart
I think it changes based on match up. Small Ball Caruso. Tall Ball I-Hart.
I think it will be situational. TWolves? Startenstein.
Celtics? Staruso.
Bench Shai and start both of them.
Caruso makes the most sense. I think we will get the most out of the team by having one of Hartenstein or Chet on the floor at all times.
Doesn’t mean we won’t close some games with them both on the floor, I just feel our playstyle leans more toward 1 big unless we need to size up against bigger teams
If Caruso is that much bigger than I-Hart as shown in this picture, then the Thunder should start him!
I think minutes among Dort, Caruso, and Hart are going to change up depending on their matchups… But I think the starting 5 will remain the same no matter what. My theory is that never changing starting 5 hides your strategy a little bit.
But if we’re playing a team like Minnesota, I’d expect Hart to get more minutes.
If we’re playing the warriors, we’re probably giving Caruso more minutes.
We saw it happen a lot with Giddey. He would always start but his minutes would drop significantly based on matchups.
If I had to guess, I’d say the 5 are SGA, Dort, Caruso, Dub, Chet. I say this because it’s more similar to what they liked to start with last year. But I’m not that confident Hart won’t start either.
Iād personally prefer Alex starting
From what I’ve seen from coach we’re probably going to switch up a lot throughout the season and experiment to see what is the best fit. Of course it’ll change depending on which team we play so there may not be a set starting lineup besides the obvious SGA, Chet & J Dub
I think Ihart starts and Caruso off bench. However I could see them doing Caruso just to fill the Giddey Gap and keep the others the same. Would prefer Dort at the 2 and JDub at the 3 tho personally
We been spoiled as a fan baseā¦ no more Reddit for me
Matchup based
It doesnāt really matter
No
I think it’s possible to start both or either one and start subbing at 3 or 4 minutes in instead of 3 or 4 minutes left of the first. Most likely start Ihart in that instance.
Doesn’t matter, they will both play – a lot
That’s all that matters.