The Oklahoma City Thunder will once again have to face some games without Isaiah Hartenstein. And what is more worrying, they will have to do it because of some old problems. The center has suffered a new injury to the soleus of his left leg, an area that was already affected a few weeks ago, which suggests that the champions will be especially cautious when managing his return.
The center suffered the ailment in Sunday’s game against the 76ers, in which he had to go to the locker room at the end of the third quarter, and was almost immediately ruled out for the game against the Hawks this morning. OKC, however, has not announced how many games he is expected to miss, although we can use the last time he had these problems, in which he missed six games, as a reference.
The absence of the former Knicks player ends up leaving the Thumder’s inside game somewhat lacking in strength, since they have been without Jaylin Williams since mid-December. This will probably lead Daigneault to bet on more small quintets with Holmgren as the only interior or without pure interiors, a formula that, given the great aggressiveness of his perimeter defense, does not have to be a problem for the team.
Where this absence can be most noticeable is in rebounding, since, with 10.4 catches per game, Hartenstein clearly leads the Thunder in this matter. The rest of the team will therefore have to make an effort to avoid suffering in this aspect, one of the few in which OKC does not particularly stand out.
(Cover photo: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
