Can OKC Thunder Double-Big Lineup Make Impact in NBA Finals?

Oklahoma City went small in Game 1, but it might be wise to throw some bigger lineups on the floor moving forward.

Throughout the postseason, the Thunder have their two-big lineup featuring a frontcourt of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. However, the Thunder made a switch in Game 1 of the Finals, opting for Cason Wallace over Hartenstein, allowing them to go smaller to better match Indiana’s personnel.

While the starting lineup change didn’t have a major impact on the outcome, it did show that the Thunder might be moving away from the double-big lineup entirely. While Holmgren and Hartenstein shared the floor consistently throughout the first two rounds, their time together diminished in the Western Conference Finals and seems to have evaporated entirely against the Pacers.

After playing over a quarter per game together in the first two rounds, Hartenstein and Holmgren tallied under nine minutes a night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After not playing at all in the first game against Indiana, there are plenty of doubts as to whether Mark Daigneault will throw those two on the floor together again this season.

“I thought getting Cason out there really defensively giving us another perimeter guy for Haliburton and Nembhard, that was the idea there,” Daigneault said about the starting lineup change.

The Thunder’s commitment to going small went beyond simply removing the double-big lineup from the rotation. Oklahoma City went without either big on the floor for over seven minutes in the Game 1 loss, never using backup Jaylin Williams either.

While small ball has been a staple of the Thunder throughout Daigneault’s tenure, his reasoning for the starting lineup change also signals a window for the double-big lineup to be successful. When Indiana goes to its bench and puts limited shooting threats on the floor, such as T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin, the Thunder could bring out their two bigs and try to create a clear advantage in the paint without sacrificing much on the perimeter.

Considering the Thunder lost the rebounding battle 56-39 and allowed 13 offensive rebounds, it will be critical for them to find a way to win that battle moving forward. While going small to match up with Indiana makes sense, using the double-big lineup in small stretches could give the Thunder an advantage the Pacers can’t replicate.