OKLAHOMA CITY — Amid numerous injuries to his frontcourt, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has relied heavily on centers Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams. While Daigneault began last season without Hartenstein, he had Chet Holmgren holding down the fort. However, Holmgren missed three consecutive games this week. Still, the defending champions stretched its perfect start to 7-0. Williams had plenty to do with that.
Daigneault, who very rarely played Hartenstein and Holmgren at the same time, has leaned into pairing the two in various lineups, which has yielded positive results for both centers, as Daigneault discussed during his postgame medial availability.
“I think J-Will's shooting and skill gives you the option to do that. He's also improved defensively to a point where it's broadened the range of matchups he can take, and there's certain situations where we think it's advantageous for us, tonight was one of them, and we think there's others,” Daigneault said. “It's just another option for us. It's another tool that we're trying to develop at appropriate times during the season. Tonight felt like an appropriate time.”
Jaylin Williams, who entered Sunday's game shooting below 20% from three, started alongside Hartenstein and connected on 4-of-9 from deep, finishing with 12 points, four assists, one block, and one steal in 23 minutes against the Pelicans. Most of his attempts from behind the three-point arc were open, which is something we could see more of between now and the end of the season, as Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault noted.
Hartenstein flirted with a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists) as the tandem caused fits for the Pelicans' offense in a 137-106 blowout win.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's ‘better' take amid Thunder's 7-0 start
Coming off a week where Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his home broken into, he had much better things to say about his team tying the franchise record for the best start to a regular season. For Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder is a better team than the one we saw last season.
“It feels like we've had a year to get better, honestly,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Personnel hasn't changed much out of the few rookies. Since the start of last year, we've had a year to get better, learn each other on and off the court, and it feels like we've had a head start in that this season. And honestly, we're dealing with some injuries to start the year.
“But because we've gotten better, 1 through 15, the guys in the locker room, we're able to plug-and-play, and figure it out on the fly, and still have good results.”
With a win against the Clippers on Tuesday, the Thunder would reach 8-0, and set the record for the best start in franchise history.
