Cason Wallace has slid nicely into a trusty three-and-D role for the OKC Thunder over these first few years of his career. However, lately, he's also shown flashes of legitimate stardom in the wake of the absence of reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
While Wallace has fans enamored with his recent two-way dominance, it might be best to temper expectations for the third-year guard.
The Kentucky product has dazzled since SGA's injury back on February 3rd. He has completely taken over games, registering a 23 and two 27-point performances along the way.
He has also finished games with three, four, and five total points.
Thunder are still trying to figure out who Cason Wallace is
Wallace has demonstrated a wide range of skills and has proven capable of sliding into different roles on any given night. The problem is that he has struggled to string these performances together from one game to the next.
In the month of February, he has logged back-to-back 20-plus point outings just one time. His other 20-plus point games have been followed up with five and 12-point performances.
With no Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Ajay Mitchell, Wallace has been called upon to take on more ball-handling duties. He has shown playmaking upside to go along with his scoring, as he has had games with six, seven, and 10 assists.
He has also finished games with three and four assists.
His inconsistent outputs have begged the question: Who is Cason Wallace?
Defensive specialist? Three-and-D role player? Slasher? Scorer? Playmaker.?
The 22-year-old has shown the ability to adapt to every one of these roles in his short time in the NBA.
For the sake of the Thunder's impending playoff push, however, it may be in their best interest to hammer down their expectations of him before April comes.
Thunder can add Cason Wallace to their list of future question marks
The absence of stars has potentially led to more questions than answers for the Thunder.
Isaiah Joe has made an emphatic case to stay in the rotation with his electric sharpshooting and vastly improved defense.
Role players Jared McCain and Kenrich Williams have been outperforming expectations, while rookie Nikola Topic has shown flashes of elite playmaking potential in his limited minutes.
Now, OKC can add Caso to their "what do we do with him now?" list.
When the stars make their inevitable return, coach Mark Daigneault's biggest challenge may be figuring out how to satisfy the appetites of so many talented scorers with only one basketball.