The Oklahoma City Thunder are sticking with the same starting lineup they used in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Prior to the series opener against the Indiana Pacers, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault made the surprising decision to bench starting center Isaiah Hartenstein and replace him in the opening group with backup guard Cason Wallace. Now, despite their Game 1 loss, the Thunder are sticking with Wallace in the starting lineup.
The decision to bench Hartenstein was based on the matchups problems the Indiana Pacers posed against him. The Pacers have played their best against big lineups all postseason because of their spacing and speed. Entering Game 1, the Thunder decided to be proactive and remove their starting center before the Pacers could have a chance to attack him. Hartenstein ultimately played only 17 minutes in Game 1, a 111-110 loss.
Wallace, on the other hand, played 33 minutes, and the results were mixed. The new starting five won its minutes by two points. However, the game was lost with an ultra-small, no-centers lineup that included Wallace down the stretch. He finished the game with six points, missing all three of his 3-point attempts, and adding one steal, one block, one assist and two rebounds.
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If Wallace is going to justify his new starting position, he is going to have to play better on offense. The idea of removing Hartenstein was to make it easier to match up with Indiana’s smaller, faster lineup. In some ways, Wallace does so, but in others, he had issues in Game 1. When Pascal Siakam was able to find him on switches, for instance, he proved too small to contain him. There was some discussion externally about starting Alex Caruso in Wallace’s place because he’s better at the dealing with bigger players, but the logic behind sticking with Wallace was seemingly to prioritize his more consistent shooting.
The Thunder didn’t generate points off of turnovers as easily in Game 1 as they are used to. They need to be able to find half-court offense, but aside from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they haven’t done so yet in the Finals. For now, they are sticking with Wallace, but they will likely feel out lineups throughout the game and close with whatever group has the most success.
