The Oklahoma City Thunder have recently been bitten by the injury bug. Against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, they were missing Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, and Jalen Williams in addition to Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic, who are out for the season.
To make matters worse, Ajay Mitchell went down late in the third quarter with a right hip contusion.
As a result, the Thunder went deep into their bench to pull out another dominant win. In the process, an obvious adjustment for head coach Mark Daigneault was revealed.
Branden Carlson played effective and impactful minutes when he saw the court. Until Oklahoma City gets their frontcourt intact, Carlson must see more extended run.
Branden Carlson could help hold things over until Hartenstein and Williams return
Carlson, who made his NBA debut last season after signing a 10-Day contract with the Thunder, has seen very limited minutes in his time with the organization.
In his rookie season, he played in just 32 games, averaging 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists while knocking down 44.3% of his shots from the field. He failed to truly crack the rotation, averaging just 7.7 minutes per game.
As this season has gone on, however, he has started to earn more trust from the coaching staff. He's played 20 or more minutes four separate times this season.
Coming into the game against Milwaukee, however, he had received four straight DNPs.
With absences plaguing the Thunder, Carlson made the most of his return to the rotation. In just over 16 minutes on the court, he posted nine points, six rebounds, and one assist while going 4-of-8 from the floor. Oklahoma City won his minutes by nine points.x
Since Hartenstein went down in late December, the Thunder are 28th in the league in rebounding percentage. Losing Jaylin Williams certainly does not help matters.
Carlson is by no means an elite rebounder or defender, but he has shown he is capable enough to present a stopgap while those two players are out. He's averaged a rebound percentage of 12.9% this season in his limited minutes, coming close to matching Jaylin Williams' 14.1%
Carlson, moreover, has 19 more games to play until the team is forced to convert his two-way contract into a standard one. The Thunder have flexibility here, and they must utilize it while they can.
Carlson must get an opportunity to play more extensively over the next couple of weeks.