Isaiah Hartenstein damage replace: Thunder must wait 5-6 weeks to indicate off their new look

The Oklahoma City Thunder must begin the common season with out heart Isaiah Hartenstein. The 26-year-old heart “sustained a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand throughout the second half of Tuesday’s preseason game in Denver,” the Thunder introduced on Thursday. “Hartenstein might be re-evaluated in 5 to 6 weeks.”

Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract (with a workforce choice in Yr 3) with the Thunder in July. It was one of the most significant signings of the summer — he was coming off a profession yr with the New York Knicks, and Oklahoma Metropolis was coming off a 57-win season. The Thunder already had a superb beginning heart in Chet Holmgren, however the appeal was obvious: Hartenstein makes them greater, higher on the glass and, most significantly, extra adaptable. His playmaking from the highest of the important thing diversifies their offense, and his screening opens up alternatives everywhere in the courtroom.

Three preseason video games into his tenure, you’ll be able to already see Oklahoma Metropolis determining tips on how to play off of Hartenstein. Here is fellow offseason addition Alex Caruso occurring upon an open look from simply exterior the paint due to an imaginative go from the massive man of their first sport collectively:

Two days later, one other nice learn from Hartenstein and one other bucket for Caruso:

Hartenstein’s absence, then, is a setback. During a press conference three weeks ago, general manager Sam Presti said, “We will want a while with this explicit group, particularly as a result of we’re not attempting to wedge [Hartenstein and Caruso] in or have assumptions of how they’ll match with sure gamers. We sort of have to permit that to take its course.” Now Oklahoma Metropolis will want much more time. If Hartenstein is ready to play in six weeks, he may have missed the primary 18 video games of the common season.

It’s price monitoring how the Thunder strategy the primary month or so. They’ve made it recognized that they need to play a unique manner offensively, however they may now be with out the man who unlocks plenty of totally different actions. They’re lucky to have the ability to fall again on an offense that ranked third within the NBA in effectivity final season, however they seemingly do not need to abandon what they have been engaged on all through coaching camp and the preseason.

Within the quick time period, OKC’s frontcourt is skinny. Massive man Jaylin Williams strained his proper hamstring in the beginning of this month, and ahead Kenrich Williams had an arthroscopic debridement process (i.e. a cleanup) in his proper knee a month in the past. Each might be re-evaluated on the finish of the preseason. If neither is accessible when the common season begins and the Thunder don’t make any roster strikes, they may very well be extraordinarily small. Ousmane Dieng, the 21-year-old they picked No. 11 within the 2022 draft, isn’t a traditional “huge,” however he’s 6-foot-9 and will have a chance to be within the rotation. Bismack Biyombo, who spent the previous few months of the 2023-24 season in Oklahoma Metropolis, stays a free agent.

The Thunder open the season on Oct. 24 towards three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. This matchup would have been a first-rate alternative to see how their two-big lineups look and even perhaps begin Hartenstein subsequent to Holmgren. On account of this damage, all of that must wait.