Small Ball Should Still Be a Big Part of OKC Thunder’s Future Plans

In the NBA playoffs, Oklahoma City deployed rotations that would’ve made the rebuild era of the roster proud. The Thunder found ways to be competitive by playing small and committing to pesky defense across the board. That allowed them to excel in beating teams down the floor and causing complete chaos on the court when the roster wasn’t loaded with talent. A few years later, and the roster spilling over with talent, small ball was extremely effective in the postseason.

When the Thunder had Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso on the floor together, it could certainly be classified as chaos ball. Oklahoma City often used four guards with Caruso serving as a forward, and the steals and deflections came in excess. With Jalen Williams being an elite defender that has experience guarding opposing big men, it just worked. Even when Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein rounding out the “small-ball” lineup, the four guards simply made things happen.

The NBA is working towards a transition to massive lineups after a long stretch of smaller, versatile lineups. Almost every team in the Western Conference is well-equipped to run a double-big lineup with two giants in the front court. That’s how the Mavericks exposed the Thunder a full season ago in the postseason, and rival teams haven’t been hesitant to add a second big this offseason. Even with the change in landscape, though, small ball should be a big part of the Thunder’s future plans.

Starting with Caruso who played up and down the lineup all season long, the Thunder seemed to really add some different looks in the playoffs when he was involved. Against Denver, he even spent time on one of the biggest players in the league in Nikola Jokic. Caruso’s efforts against the former MVP allowed the Thunder to play small and gave them just enough of a wrinkle to come out on top.

In high stakes games against good offensive teams, Wallace’s defense has proven to be too good to keep on the bench. When he, Caruso, and Lu Dort are on the floor together, it’s incredibly easy to turn the ball over against the Thunder — as was evident during the team’s Finals run.

As the NBA continues to change, the Thunder will certainly be able to go big with a talented front court. But small ball will always give this team a unique dynamic.