The OKC Thunder find themselves heading into Thursday night's rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers without any true center available.
Already without cornerstone big Chet Holmgren, who's still working his way back from a right iliac wing fracture sustained back in early November, Wednesday it was announced that starting pivot Isaiah Hartenstein will be joining the reigning rookie phenom in street clothes on the sidelines as he nurses a recently strained left soleus.
As fans are well aware, this is by no means the first time Oklahoma City has had to endure such hardships this season, as they spent six games earlier in the year rolling out a starting five with 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams serving as the club's primary center option.
However, though there may be some parallels between this upcoming experience and their previous center-less stint, Alex Caruso revealed during a post-shootaround media availability on Thursday that there are a few key, and in many ways more favorable differences.
Alex Caruso talks center situation for Thunder ahead of Cavs game
While he acknowledges that it's a "tough task" to prepare to play without a true five, the sheer fact that they've been in this situation before provides some crucial familiarity with dealing with such a hardship.
"I've at least gotten some reps at [playing in a center-less scheme] now so I'll know what to expect. It's going to be one of those things where we do it by committee again," Caruso said.
Caruso would also highlight that, unlike their last time running such a rotational game plan, the Thunder will have a few extra reinforcements who were previously out with injury that they can use during the on-court experiment.
"It helps having [Kenrich Williams] back and [Jaylin Williams], like, at least we have a center this time so we won't be small the entire game," Caruso said.
During Oklahoma City's last go at running a super small lineup such as this, regularly their tallest talent on the floor capped out at 6-foot-5 with J-Dub and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though, toward the end of this stretch they did manage to see the 6-foot-7 Kenrich Williams return back from injury which helped alleviate some of the physical toll on his cohorts.
Now, as Caruso noted, with 6-foot-9 Jaylin Williams officially in the mix, the Thunder can still throw out some size against opposing ball clubs. However, considering he's far from an interior enforcer and, frankly, has shown a preference throughout his career to play closer to the perimeter rather than the painted area, a collective effort will still be needed to make up for their lackluster available depth.
During their last go-around without Holmgren or Hartenstein, Oklahoma City went 3-2 while falling down to eighth in the league in defensive rating (108.4).