Isaiah Hartenstein stays true to his game, helps spark Game 2 victory

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OKLAHOMA CITY — A field rating would not reveal every thing.

But as Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault perused the field rating from San Antonio’s Game 1 double-overtime victory on Monday, a quantity gnawed at him: Isaiah Hartenstein’s minutes performed.

“It doesn’t feel good playing Hart 12 minutes,” Daigneault concedes. “It just didn’t feel good to me.”

Daigneault pulled Hartenstein apart into observe on Tuesday.

“He kind of apologized, but it was more like, ‘Hey, just be ready. Your number’s going to be called more, and we’re going to try to do something different,'” Hartenstein defined.

Hartenstein performed 27 minutes in Game 2 on Wednesdayand his offensive and defensive contributions, particularly guard Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, have been essential to the Thunder’s 122-113 victory, tying the Western Conference Finals at 1-1.

Hartenstein had 10 factors, 13 rebounds, together with eight offensive reboundsthree assists and spent necessary minutes engaged with Wembanyama, attempting to make him work as laborious as doable. Wembanyama nonetheless put up statistics: 21 factors, 17 rebounds, six assists and 4 blocks.

But he additionally had 4 turnovers, a part of San Antonio’s 21 turnovers that led to 27 Thunder factors, and Wembanyama did not dominate on the rim with dunks and layups the way in which he did in Game 1 when he scored 26 factors within the paint. He had simply 10 paint factors in Game 2, and the 7-foot, 267-pound Hartenstein logged probably the most minutes defending Wembanyama, per NBA.com’s box score data.

The Thunder need to put on down Wembanyama with their dimension and energy by forcing him to play heavy minutes.

“He just did a good job of being a physicist,” Thunder reserve Alex Caruso mentioned of Hartenstein. “Making (Wembanyama) work all game, which I think ended up being beneficial for him on the glass late in the game. He cleaned that up offensively and defensively for us – a couple of possessions in a row that were really big. Just making it kind of trench warfare and putting his will on the line to go get the job done.”

Caruso drew the majority of that tough task in Game 1, and Wembanyama had a historic efficiency with 41 factors, 24 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. The Thunder couldn’t permit that once more, not less than not in Game 2 and going through the potential for a 2-0 deficit.

“He did what he does,” Daigneault mentioned of Hartenstein. “I don’t think it was specific to Wembanyama. He played his game, and that’s a physical brand that you have to deal with around the basket. The offensive rebounding is a huge thing and there’s great gravity to that as well. I just thought again, great professionalism.”

That professionalism matches into the Thunder ethos.

“The guy is like an ultimate compete-together player,” Daigneault mentioned. “He’s a big-time crew man. He’d slightly give an help than rating some extent. He understands the intricacies of the sport, particularly on protection. He brings nice physicality on each ends of the ground, particularly on the glass. He’s an awesome rebounder, nice screensetter.

“If you listed all the skills you wanted for a modern center, like true center, he checks every box. That’s why I love him. And the other thing I love about him is I played him 12 minutes, and he doesn’t bat an eye and turns around (Wednesday) and plays a great game.”

Ahh, again to the minutes. Hartenstein wasn’t upset.

“Mark’s a great coach. I trust him and if you want to play in a team sport, if you want to play on a team like this, you really have to put your ego aside and do what’s best for the team,” Hartenstein mentioned.

The admiration between participant and coach is mutual.

“Mark does a great job of just communicating,” Hartenstein mentioned. (*2*)

Hartenstein signed with the Thunder before the 2024-25 season and helped them with the championship final season. His position stays precious because the Thunder chase a second consecutive title.

In 10 playoff video games, Hartenstein’s per-36-minute averages are terrific: 13.4 factors, 12.5 rebounds (5.5 on the offensive finish), 3.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per sport, all whereas capturing 70% total. He makes use of a nifty floater/one-handed push shot and places arc on it. He instructed members of the teaching employees use shot-block sticks to assist simulate getting the ball over somebody just like the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama.

Hartenstein, 28, bounced round completely different groups earlier in his profession — Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers and New York Knicks — and it regarded like he was a superb match for a number of of these groups.

Hartenstein turned a free agent in the summertime of 2024 and explored his choices. The Thunder are explicit about roster-building and what sort of participant they need. They appreciated what Hartenstein might present.

Hartenstein can be explicit and mentioned he needed to play for a crew that matches his type and philosophy.

“The culture – that’s one thing that when (Thunder executive vice president) Sam Presti came to Eugene, Oregon, that was the first thing he said, ‘I can’t promise you minutes. I can’t promise you your role, but I can promise you a culture,'” Hartenstein mentioned. “What I saw from afar is exactly how it is, and they make it so easy for you to come to work and just focus on basketball.”

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Jeff Zillgitt has lined the NBA since 2008. You can e mail him at jzillgitt@nba.comdiscover his archive here and follow him on.