The Pacers are not the team to go super large against. They play too fast, run too much, to justify a couple of 7-footers sharing the floor. Clearly, the Thunder have noticed that — but it’s surprised me how far they are taking the strategy.
Oklahoma City was hyper successful with Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren sharing the court up until the Finals. But Cason Wallace entered the starting lineup for Hartenstein to begin the series. In three games against the Pacers, the duo has played only 10 minutes together.
The irony, of course, is that the Knicks’ most significant lineup adjustment during the Eastern Conference Finals, which they lost to Indiana in six games, was a change to their starting lineup that swapped a center, Mitchell Robinson, in for a wing, Josh Hart. The Knicks went double-big from Game 3 on, in part to add rim protection to a lineup that was lacking it. At times, they destroyed on the boards. In other moments, Robinson especially appeared exhausted, trekking back and forth against possibly the fastest team in the league.
The Thunder don’t need the extra rim protection. Both Holmgren and Hartenstein can anchor a defense. But it’s still a surprise how little those two have played together in this series. They didn’t run alongside each other for a second of Game 1.
During the regular season, lineups with those two feasted on the offensive boards, where the Pacers struggle. They outscored opponents by 13.5 points per 100 possessions.
Even if it means Hartenstein defending Siakam, which could make the Thunder more prone to fast-break buckets, I wonder if we see more of the Thunder’s double-big lineups — if only because it’s led to so much success before.
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