OKLAHOMA CITY — For the first time in the postseason, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault changed his starting lineup in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Instead of starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, he elected to go with Cason Wallace, which begs the question: does Daigneault stick with the new lineup or revert to his old ways in Game 2? The Thunder blew a 15-point lead in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers.
However, the collapse happened in the fourth quarter, as Daigneault reminded reporters of the impressive first half the Thunder had in Game 1. Daigneault also remained tight-lipped about his approach to Game 2 during media availability following team practice.
“We have a lot of optionality that we draw on almost nightly. If you've followed our team throughout the season, I think, you know flexibility and adaptability is the only constant,” Daigneault said. “We’re never staying the same. We’ve started the same lineup in the playoffs, but our rotation night-to-night in these series has been incredibly variant. We think that’s a strength to our team.
“I liked how we started the game and I liked really everything we did to build a 15-point lead. And then, we didn’t deliver down the stretch collectively, but we’re always trying to learn from it,” Daigneault concluded.
It's difficult to gauge which direction Daigneault will lean toward. Perhaps he sticks with the lineup that stifled the Pacers' offense into committing eight of their 24 turnovers in the opening frame and tweaks his fourth-quarter approach.
Will Isaiah Hartenstein start for Thunder in Game 2?
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Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during NBA Finals Media Day at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein flirted with a double-double (nine points, nine rebounds) in 17 minutes off the bench in his NBA Finals debut. Fans ripped Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault for his questionable decisions in Game 1. After the loss, Hartenstein addressed the unexpected change to the Thunder's starting lineup, per Sports Illustrated's Rylan Stiles.
“Mark does a great job of communicating, so we talked about it I think, it was like yesterday we talked about it,” Hartenstein said. “I’m here to do whatever is best for the team. I trust Mark, and I think again, it’s worked in the past. Cason [Wallace] has been amazing throughout the playoffs. He’s been amazing when he started in the regular season.
“So, I don’t think that contributed to us losing the game, we had control over the game, the whole game. So it was more, again, kinda more the Denver series where we left that go. And that’s on us,” Hartenstein concluded.
Much like they did in their second-round series against the Nuggets, the Thunder will look to even the series 1-1 in Game 2 against the Pacers on Sunday.