Cason Wallace Deserves Praise and Minutes for Postseason Performance

Oklahoma City’s first round pick has turned into one of the team’s unsung heroes.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) celebrates / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder relies heavily on its youth, and that’s no secret. It’s been that way since the rebuild began during the 2020-21 season and it’s stayed the same now that Oklahoma City is back in contention.

Nearly all of the Thunder’s production has come from players 25 and under, and the team’s nucleus is all young — and under contract. It’s not too surprising to see the Thunder gelling and growing though. Even though the squad is young, they’ve been able to play an unusual amount of games together and they’ve been given a lot of leeway since coming into the league. The Thunder’s first priority was development, so the youngsters were allowed to mess up.

Oklahoma City shifted slightly towards competing last season, and this year it feels like the foot is completely on the gas. If you’re not ready to play, you’re not going to play. The obvious example of that is Ousmane Dieng, who was a lottery pick a season ago, was stashed in the G League all season. And that’s not a bad thing.

Cason Wallace, on the other hand, was ready to play from the first game of the season, and has only gotten better in the playoffs. The bigger the stage, the steadier Wallace has become. In a series with two Hall of Fame guards in their prime, Wallace has stepped up to the challenge on both ends of the floor and deserves both praise and an uptick in minutes moving forward.

Although game three was tough sledding for Wallace, Oklahoma City desperately needs his two-way presence. Lu Dort has racked up the fouls and missed so many triples through three games, making Wallace the Thunder’s best alternative option defensively.

In games one and two, Wallace had seven points and six points with three steals and stellar all around defense. He’s quicker than Jalen Williams and able to stay in front of Kyrie Irving, and can relieve Dort when in foul trouble on Luka Doncic.

The underrated part about Wallace’s game is he doesn’t need the ball in his hands. He’s a great drifter and cutter and finds ways to impact the game even when he’s not scoring. If Oklahoma City continues to go away from Josh Giddey, Wallace is the answer.

He doesn’t feel like a rookie this postseason, and frankly he hasn’t all season long. Wallace could play a crucial part in Oklahoma City’s efforts to even the series up next week.

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