Despite the fact that they are the reigning number-one seed in the Western Conference and currently hold the top record (15-5) in the standings through the first 20 games of 2024-25, this OKC Thunder squad is still a work in progress.
Largely due to their long-standing injury woes, Oklahoma City has yet to play a single game with a fully intact roster.
Key contributors such as Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein missed the first few weeks of the season due to health-related ailments while guys like Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams currently find themselves sidelined with a hip fracture and nagging hamstring strain, respectively.
Because of this, coach Mark Daigneault's rotations have been highly inconsistent, which, as a result, has impacted the development of on-court chemistry.
Fortunately, however, with every passing game connections seem to be strengthening, especially between the likes of Jalen Williams and the club's splashy free-agency acquisition in Hartenstein.
The duo have been quite active in the pick-and-roll and screen game with one another, with many of such instances ending in a clean look at a bucket for J-Dub or a lob at the rim for I-Hart.
Of course, this tandem is still quite new, as they've only played five games alongside one another. Nevertheless, there's clear promise with this one-two punch, and, according to Williams, he's striving to recreate the chemistry Hartenstein had with All-Star Jalen Brunson during their two-year stint together with the New York Knicks.
Thunder forward wants to 'emulate' Jalen Brunson, Hartenstein tandem
"There's a lot of room to grow. Obviously you look at him in New York with Jalen Brunson. Obviously Jalen Brunson's a good player he's going to score regardless, but a lot of the screening action they had for him, he was able to free up and get him easy looks. We're trying to emulate that ourselves in our own unique way," Williams said.
No, you're not seeing double 🤯 https://t.co/gZQkvzkQNj pic.twitter.com/zowEqfSjnq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 2, 2024
Throughout his seven-year career, Isaiah Hartenstein has established himself as a sturdy, big-bodied presence down in the frontcourt who plays with a nitty-gritty style.
However, during the two years he spent in New York before signing with the Thunder this offseason, he managed to separate himself from being viewed as just a traditional role-playing center and, instead, became an elite screener and pick-and-roll commodity, especially while playing alongside Jalen Brunson.
In 2023-24 alone, the Knicks star led the league in pick-and-roll points generated with 852 while serving as the handler in such sets roughly 41 percent of the time. Hartenstein, meanwhile, served as a regular screen setter throughout his final season in the Big Apple and even ranked 11 in screen assists despite starting just 49 games.
While the sample size may be limited, it already seems the Thunder are reaping the rewards of his pick-setting abilities, as the 26-year-old currently ranks fifth in screen assists per game (4.6) and sixth in screen assist points per game (10.4) and have their pick and roll handlers generating the third-most points with 397 so far.
Thanks to his versatility, Jalen Williams has been a major participant in this uptick in P&R play, as he's seen a near 35 percent frequency as a handler.
Though this falls roughly 5.0 percentage points behind Jalen Brunson's metric with Hartenstein last season, as the campaign continues to unfold one should expect to see the new Thunder tandem somewhat resemble the one New York rolled out last season.
At the very least, that's what J-Dub is gunning for.