The wound of Chet Holmgren and his absence for two to three months will profoundly change the face of the Thunder. Already because the interior had an excellent start to the season. Then because he is one more absentee in the Oklahoma City racket.
Isaiah Hartensteinhit in the left hand, is not yet ready to return. Jaylin Williamswith hamstring problems, is still stuck in the infirmary for a month. Finally, Kenrich Williamshad knee surgery before the preseason, has just started his season against the Clippers.
That's a lot and for his first major five without Chet Holmgren, Mark Daigneault launched shooter Isaiah Joe. So much so that, against James Harden and his gang, none of the Thunder starters exceeded two meters! “We are not going to invent new systems because we are playing small. We are going to find a large interior at one point or another”, sums up the coach.
Small-ball is not in Oklahoma City again
This is indeed a transitional solution since the interiors will leave the infirmary over the coming months. Furthermore, faced with this observation, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates are not totally lost.
“We’ve been there before. We've won matches playing small ball and we can do it again.”, announces the starwho scored 45 points (his record) for the Clippers. “This is not the first time we have experienced this”goes in the same direction Jalen Williams.
What solutions in the racket for Mark Daigneault? Alex Caruso can provide services, just like Jalen Williams, even Dillon Jones. It's up to the technician to find it.
“I’m never going to make that an excuse. It's part of the game and we'll have to adapt. We have already played small, at different times. We are a tough, competitive, mentally resilient team that adapts”ends the coach of the year 2024.
