For a significant chunk of the 2024-25 season, the OKC Thunder have struggled mightily with the lack of size found available to them down in the frontcourt.
From splashy free agency addition, Isaiah Hartenstein missing the first few weeks of the year with a left-hand fracture to Chet Holmgren going down with a right iliac wing fracture only 10 games into the campaign and being sidelined for roughly two months after, Oklahoma City's big man depth has taken quite a beating.
Fortunately, right before the All-Star break the ball club was finally able to get this talented big-man duo on the hardwood together for some regular season reps and, as of February 20, they have officially participated in a practice reportedly at full-strength.
And how have the early returns been for the Hartenstein-Holmgren tandem? Well, according to Thunder wing Jalen Williams, it's still a work in progress.
Jalen Williams says double-big lineup for Thunder still a work in progress
After their first practice post-All-Star Weekend, the first-time All-Star was asked by reporters how he feels he and his teammates have faired when playing within Oklahoma City's dual-big lineup. In a rather blunt fashion, Williams made it clear that, while there have been some positive signs, overall there are some wrinkles that still need to be ironed out.
"Just from a spacing standpoint, and it's not even a good or a bad thing, it's just trying to figure out where everybody is. When you put two seven-footers on the floor you just have to figure out where they're comfortable at, where I'm going to be comfortable at and just try to make their lives easy... We're just trying to figure out where they are best on the floor together," Williams said.
Now, though Williams did make sure to note in his assessment that "having two talented seven-footers is not an issue," this is by no means the first hint of the twin-tower tandem experiencing growing pains.
Even Holmgren unsurprisingly acknowledged this following his first go at running alongside Hartenstein when he said he's "trying to figure this out."
Interestingly enough, despite what the clunky offensive sets and increased turnover rates may suggest, this big-man duo ranks first on the team in plus-minus rating at +10.0 and is outscoring their opponents by 30 points through three games.
Still, there appears to be growing buzz among experts that the Thunder could reroute Hartenstein to a bench role and revert back to a lineup more similar to their 2023-24 assortment with Holmgren at the five and J-Dub at the four.
Such a move would undoubtedly be beneficial from a floor-spacing standpoint, allowing more of a five-out offensive approach, while simultaneously giving coach Mark Daigneault the opportunity to consistently have a 7-footer on the court throughout a contest by staggering both Chet and I-Hart.
With 28 games remaining on their regular season schedule, there's plenty of time for the Thunder to get acclimated to having both of these studly big men ready and available within the rotation before the start of the playoffs.
Friday's matchup against the Jazz should provide fans with a better sense of how Oklahoma City plans on utilizing them.