Thunder’s defense is breaking the Lakers, starting with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein

OKLAHOMA CITY — The longer Deandre Ayton hesitated, the shorter his window of opportunity became.

Nothing about his early feathery forays into the paint, and subsequent futile results around the rim, suggested that the veteran big would find much success in the restricted area. A smattering of chances — some with Isaiah Hartenstein within earshot, others with Chet Holmgren in the vicinity — had fallen helplessly by the wayside. The visual of the two Thunder bigs together, patrolling the area like crooked cops, certainly spelled danger.

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But Ayton had to do something. Try to, at least. A nifty, threaded pass from teammate LeBron James, momentarily freezing the Thunder defense, almost necessitated as much. The only issue for Ayton, as he pump faked and shuffled his feet under the basket, was that no one was buying the deceit. So when Ayton rose for the last time, Hartenstein and Holmgren rose too. In the blink of an eye, the pair recast itself as an Olympic volleyball duo, Hartenstein keeping Ayton stationary and setting up the play for Holmgren to spike the ball against the glass. Challenge denied. Protectors of the realm.

“They’re not only great rim protectors,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said following his team’s 125-107 win in Game 2, “they’re really versatile defenders that do a lot of things for us. When they’re out there together, it’s incredibly impactful. I’d throw [Jaylin Williams] in there — he’s about as disciplined, intelligent and physical as there is. Those three guys just bring a blend of all the things I just said. It’s huge for our defense and they were huge tonight.”

Oklahoma City’s defense, a vast, multilayered network of nuance, skill, aggression and precision, challenges even the smartest of opposition. Through two games, the Lakers have turned the ball over 39 times, with the Thunder scoring 46 points off of said mistakes. But for all of their depth and quality, crisp rotations and aggressive closeouts, the formula doesn’t work without Holmgren and Hartenstein. In Game 1, the Lakers converted just 58.6 percent of shots at the rim, good…

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Author : Kelly Iko

Publish date : 2026-05-08 07:04:00

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