Though the month-long delay of Isaiah Hartenstein's OKC Thunder regular season debut may not have been ideal, his addition to the rotation came at the perfect time.
After seeing star big Chet Holmgren go down with a right iliac wing fracture in early November and, in turn, join the ball club's ever-growing injury report, just six games later I-Hart became medically cleared to step back onto the hardwood for in-game action.
While he may not be the overall talent that Holmgren is when healthy, Hartenstein's addition to the rotation has been an absolute godsend in his absence.
From his enviable 7-foot, 249-pound frame to his dominating nature as a screen-setter, the 26-year-old's impact on Oklahoma City's on-court production has been undeniable, hence their 7-1 record with him in the fold.
However, as far as his status is concerned from a league-wide standpoint, ahead of Tuesday's NBA Cup matchup against the Dallas Mavericks Hartenstein made a strong claim regarding his efficiency and production on the boards that should be of great use in their Quarterfinal bout.
OKC Thunder big Isaiah Hartenstein talks up rebounding skills
During a post-practice media session, Hartenstein discussed OKC's most recent outing against Dallas back on November 17, one where he was still sidelined with a left-hand fracture.
When talking about what he believes he could have contributed to the team during their 121-119 loss, the center acknowledged that Dallas was successful in using their bigger stature as a team to their advantage (rolled out a rotation of several players about 6-foot-10 while OKC had 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams as their starting five), and that, this time around, could they now benefit from his rebounding skills.
"I know I'm one of the best rebounders in the league. Bringing that toughness to the game, rebounding to the game, physicality. That was something, when I was watching (back on November 17), I could help with for sure," Hartenstein said.
Hartenstein is not one to shy away from making bold claims about his individual skill set, as he's also gone as far as to call himself "one of the best passers in the NBA." However, just like with his distribution claims, the big man has managed to follow up his lofty talk with strong statistical backing.
Since his first game played this regular season back on November 20, Isaiah Hartenstein ranks fourth in rebounds per game with 12.8 and sixth in rebound percentage out of those who have played seven or more games during this span.
What's exciting about this level of expertise heading into Tuesday's matchup is the fact that, in their last game against Dallas, the Thunder were severely overpowered on the boards as they were out-rebounded 53-29 while letting up 24 second-chance points compared to their seven.
Considering the, then, vertically challenged Thunder only lost their last matchup to the Mavericks by a mere 2 points, plugging in someone like Hartenstein and the skills he possesses (namely, rebounding and the ability to limit second-chance opportunities) should only help improve the ball club's odds of exacting revenge.