Following Wednesday night's win over the Phoenix Suns, the OKC Thunder now have home-court advantage fully locked in throughout the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
With this, along with the fact that they've already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference standings, a popular belief is that coach Mark Daigneault should now consider sidelining his primary core players for their remaining two games on the docket in an effort to give them as much rest as possible before their postseason journey begins.
Though on the surface, such an idea seems beneficial -- especially considering the slew of injuries this team has dealt with throughout the year --, there are a few clear reasons why such an approach could prove to be counterproductive, and, to be more specific, there are a couple of players who could actually be negatively impacted by such a decision.
Isaiah Joe
Oklahoma City has struggled to find scoring consistency without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor, and such a weakness has proven to be one of the most buzzed-about concerns throughout the year when it comes to their championship viability.
Even with the contributions of Jalen Williams and his 21.6 points per game average, any help the Thunder can get from their tertiary options will be a major plus for the club, and, though Isaiah Joe has been a solid asset in this department for the majority of the year, recently he's found himself in a bit of a slump.
Through four games played in the month of March, the second-unit spark plug has been playing as if he's run out of juice. In 21 minutes per night, Joe's been averaging just 4.8 points while shooting just 30.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from distance and has registered a putrid plus-minus rating of -9 along the way.
Such production is quite a step down from his 10.1 points on 41.3 percent shooting from deep averages he sported upon coming into this final month of play.
Joe's slump has come at a rather inopportune time for the Thunder. Perhaps he can find a way to snap out of it over these final couple of games and head into the playoffs with momentum on his side.
Chet Holmgren
Speaking of heading into the playoffs with momentum, every Thunder fan should be praying that stud big man Chet Holmgren can find a way to do so.
As of right now, however, confidence in such a happening doesn't seem to be all that high.
Since returning from his three-month, injury-induced absence back in February, the 22-year-old has been incredibly inconsistent.
Though some nights he may look like his pre-injury self, dropping 20-plus points, gobbling up double-digit rebounds, and swatting numerous shots, others he appears to be playing like an absolute shell of himself by finishing with 5 points and 3 rebounds as he did against the Bulls just over a week ago.
His on-court struggles became so apparent that even coach Daigneault publicly addressed them, stating that "he's not fully himself yet" and that the center is still searching for his "rhythm."
While his long-range production has been fine as a whole (38.0 percent shooting over his last 22 games), his approach to the game since being medically cleared has been far too willing to live and die by the three.
At some point, Holmgren needs to start using his 7-foot-1 frame to his advantage and get more comfortable down near the rim, as an uptick in production down low will only help create open looks outside on the perimeter.
While it would be nice to give the big as much rest as possible heading into the playoffs, especially considering his injury history, risking him playing at such an inconsistent and unpredictable rate with legitimate championship aspirations should have the coaching staff second-guessing such an idea.
On the plus side, Holmgren recently revealed that he's "Definitely going in the right direction" following a 22-point, 10-rebound outburst against the Suns, which is great to hear as they gear up for the postseason.
However, perhaps one more high-end showing on the hardwood will serve as a much-needed confidence boost for both the 22-year-old and the team as a whole, for there's a case to be made that Chet may be the biggest X-factor in OKC's hopeful title run.