Amid their recent slump, the OKC Thunder have seemingly regressed in a number of areas of play. From lowly long-range shooting percentages to a heightened propensity to foul, Oklahoma City has been producing far from their early-season selves.
Arguably, their most glaring weakness over the past few weeks has been the ball club's discrepancy in per-game rebounding productivity, though, fortunately, they already have the answer to this specific predicament residing on their roster.
They just need to be patient for it to once again present itself.
Isaiah Hartenstein return should solve rebounding issues for Thunder
Isaiah Hartenstein has been sidelined with a lingering calf injury since December 29. During his absence, the Thunder have been out-rebounded 254 to 297 and 51 to 79 when coming on the offensive end.
Perhaps the biggest effect this lopsided activity has had on OKC is that it has led to a ridiculous amount of second-chance points being let up to opposing clubs, as they are allowing 16.3 points per game through such means, equating to a whopping 98 points in total, tied for the sixth-most in the association.
This is a far cry from the league-leading 12.9 second-chance points they were letting up on average prior to I-Hart's absence.
Now, granted, the Thunder are by no means an elite rebounding team even with the 27-year-old active. Before his calf ailment sidelined him, Oklahoma City ranked a middling 15 in boards per game at 44.4 and ranked in the 65 percentile in offensive rebound percentage.
However, since his shelving, they've been pulling down an even worse average of 42.3 rebounds per game, and, without Hartenstein on the floor, they actually plummet all the way down to the first percentile in offensive rebound percentage at a putrid 20.9.
Throughout the offseason and during the first few months of regular season action, it was a popular belief that the big man could realistically wind up being a salary cap casualty ahead of 2026-27, as the Thunder attempt to stay below the dreaded second apron threshold.
Shedding his $28.5 million salary alone would accomplish this financially-driven goal.
However, given how they've been playing without his services, there's now an argument to be made that holding onto him for the final year of his deal and exploring other approaches to cutting down on their payroll could be the preferable path forward.
Once he's medically cleared and finally makes his return to the lineup, don't be surprised if the big man goes on to strengthen this case even further.