Since Chet Holmgren returned from his hip fracture in February, the Oklahoma City Thunder spent the last two months of the regular season gelling his chemistry with Isaiah Hartenstein despite some rocky moments — relatively speaking, of course.
The concept of rocky moments is foreign to the Thunder this season. They had a franchise-best 68-14 record and captured the NBA’s record for best point differential in league history. They only had two two-game losing streaks all season long.
Having a strong hold of the first seed for most of the season, the Thunder could afford some growing pains between the two seven-footers. The double-big lineup was prominently featured in OKC’s starting lineup and turned into a winning machine by the end of the season.
In 316 minutes together, Holmgren and Hartenstein had a 12.5 net rating. It’s not the biggest simple size among the Thunder’s two-player combinations and not the highest net rating, but it shows it can work, especially against larger frontcourts.
As the Thunder await their Round 1 opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks could be opportune opponents to utilize the Holmgren-Hartenstein duo. The eighth seed will have Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II or Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey.
Either way, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is confident in Holmgren and Hartenstein. They spent most of the post-All-Star break schedule prioritizing their rapport and didn’t need to sacrifice wins to do so.
“It’s been good on offense. It’s been good on defense. It controls the glass on both ends of the floor. Those guys work really well together,” Daigneault said. “It’s given us a completely different tool to draw on. We won’t do it exclusively obviously, but it’ll be a part of what we do no matter who we play.”
Who the Thunder start in Game 1 will be an interesting storyline. There’s no question there are matchups and moments where they look better with just Holmgren at center, but there’s no doubt the double-big appeal is easy to understand.
Mark Daigneault on how he feels about Holmgren-Hartenstein heading into the playoffs: pic.twitter.com/3basJ5HZbj
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 17, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault feels good about Holmgren-Hartenstein for NBA playoffs
Since Chet Holmgren returned from his hip fracture in February, the Oklahoma City Thunder spent the last two months of the regular season gelling his chemistry with Isaiah Hartenstein despite some rocky moments — relatively speaking, of course.
The concept of rocky moments is foreign to the Thunder this season. They had a franchise-best 68-14 record and captured the NBA’s record for best point differential in league history. They only had two two-game losing streaks all season long.
Having a strong hold of the first seed for most of the season, the Thunder could afford some growing pains between the two seven-footers. The double-big lineup was prominently featured in OKC’s starting lineup and turned into a winning machine by the end of the season.
In 316 minutes together, Holmgren and Hartenstein had a 12.5 net rating. It’s not the biggest simple size among the Thunder’s two-player combinations and not the highest net rating, but it shows it can work, especially against larger frontcourts.
As the Thunder await their Round 1 opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks could be opportune opponents to utilize the Holmgren-Hartenstein duo. The eighth seed will have Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II or Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey.
Either way, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is confident in Holmgren and Hartenstein. They spent most of the post-All-Star break schedule prioritizing their rapport and didn’t need to sacrifice wins to do so.
“It’s been good on offense. It’s been good on defense. It controls the glass on both ends of the floor. Those guys work really well together,” Daigneault said. “It’s given us a completely different tool to draw on. We won’t do it exclusively obviously, but it’ll be a part of what we do no matter who we play.”
Who the Thunder start in Game 1 will be an interesting storyline. There’s no question there are matchups and moments where they look better with just Holmgren at center, but there’s no doubt the double-big appeal is easy to understand.
Mark Daigneault on how he feels about Holmgren-Hartenstein heading into the playoffs: pic.twitter.com/3basJ5HZbj
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 17, 2025
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault feels good about Holmgren-Hartenstein for NBA playoffs
