Isaiah Hartenstein Answers Questions, OKC Thunder Impress
The Oklahoma City Thunder began their preseason stint in San Antonio on Monday where the OKC Thunder got an impressive win behind new comers Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell. The Thunder saw Chet Holmgren take another leap in his progression while playing alongside Hartenstein for the first time. Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell should enjoy early minutes for Mark Daigneault as each rookie was awesome. How good are the Thunder? Has OKC passed by Ousmane Dieng?
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10 Comments
Don't forget to talk about how good AJ was tonight
Never been a big fan of Ous, but I was actually impressed for the 1st time. He was finally playing like he's a big. Ajay was another player that impressed me a lot tonight, and Cason really showing shot creation chops. But was anyone else terrified for Chet most of the 1st half after he got hurt and looked like he was holding his left arm? Seems like he just got kicked in the groin though after rewatching. Hoping he's all good.
Couple of things a bit off topic. First, this was our first look at the new Rylan look without the green screen and I swear if you let that hair go again I'm coming to Lawton with the sheep shears, the new do looks great! Second, have you ever watched an old Roadrunner cartoon when Wylie gets suckered into running into a tree? That's what DP would look like if he ran into a IHart screen, just saying.
On the subject of Oes. He isn't good enough to start so he doesn't have 8 minutes to figure it out. He is a classic example of a kid that needs a motivator. He needs an assistant or teammate with their boot up his ass at all times. We all see the talent, we just don't see the fire.
Super impressive for pre season
Chet looked fast. The two rookies looked like the top two steals of the draft. They are very talented and probably would start for some teams. We have an immense amount of talent and we have 5 1st round picks coming in the 2025 draft. This is nuts!
The whiplash of Thunder going double big and then 5 guards was intense – I can’t imagine what that transition would do for other teams.
Is chet ok? I hope hes not injured
Chet looked so fast & explosive! He could really be a Top 10 player this yr. Putting up 20pts & 3+blks/a game while pushing 50/40/90 is not out of the question.
I really loved what I saw from top to bottom from the squad. JDub wasn’t able to finish well in the first but he was still getting to the spots he’ll be able to convert once he gets into the flow of the season. Caught fire in the 2Q and felt like he couldn’t miss.
Chet looked great out there, aggressive drives to the basket and he seemed very fast. A 7-footer shouldn’t be able to slice through traffic like he does, but it’s clear he’s gained some muscle this off season. Hopefully he can get some more catch and shoot looks next game.
Caruso and IHart are ALREADY making such a HUGE impact on both ends for this team. IHart in just 17 minutes got us 7 assists and 8 boards, blocked shots, made some hustle plays, and set big screens. I’m still shocked at just how good Caruso is defensively, his hands are EVERYWHERE and you can hear how vocal he is communicating with everyone. These two are going to be a treat to watch this season, exactly as advertised.
Cason looks a lot more comfortable with creating his own shot, strong drives and looks better defensively.
Dillon and Ajay are VERY much promising. They both had moments where they took over the offense when we looked a bit slow and made big shots. Dillon is a GREAT rebounder, he snatches it with impact every time, really reminds me of Russ in that regard.
Just the first preseason game but overall, we played good, very encouraged by how we played without Shai on the floor.
Adding Ousman’s aggression and instincts. He was always near the ball especially on d, which he hasn’t been.