OKC Thunder's Second-Round Opponent Could Impact Starting Lineup

The Thunder seemed to have found their starting five, but they might need to adjust to the opponent.

Apr 8, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), guard Luguentz Dort (5) celebrate with guard Cason Wallace (22) after he made a basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City has ridden the same starting group for the past few weeks, but the playoffs are all about matchups.

The Thunder took care of business in the first round, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies to secure their second straight trip to the second round. While the Thunder haven’t played in nearly a week, they are still waiting to see who they will face in the second round.

The Denver Nuggets lead the LA Clippers 3-2 with a chance to close out the series on Thursday night. However, the matchup could easily go to a Game 7 on Saturday, with the Thunder waiting until Monday or Tuesday to start their second-round series regardless.

If the Nuggets were to advance, there wouldn’t need to be many adjustments made by the Thunder. In fact, the Thunder’s current starting lineup seems like a perfect strategy to beat the Nuggets, with a similar structure to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who bested Denver in seven games in 2024.

The matchups in that series seem relatively simple. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein can take on the challenge of guarding Jokic while the other waits to help off of Aaron Gordon. Meanwhile, Lu Dort can take Jamal Murray and attempt to shut down his fellow Canadian.

Add in the advantages Oklahoma City can create on the other end, and Denver might be a perfect matchup for this iteration of the Thunder. However, a Clippers comeback might just force Mark Daigneault to adjust the starting lineup at some point.

Sure, it might make some sense for Hartenstein to take Ivica Zubac and for Holmgren to take Kris Dunn and be a roamer. However, Dunn has shot 39.1% from deep in the first round and might be finding his shooting stroke for the Clippers.

Obviously, that matchup would be the first choice for Oklahoma City, but if Dunn could make the Thunder pay, Hartenstein might need to go to the bench. That would move Cason Wallace into the starting lineup, which might be a smart move for other reasons as well.

Considering the Clippers have three explosive scoring options with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell, allowing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to not have to guard one of those players could boost his offensive energy and make things more difficult on the Clippers’ best.

Sure, the Thunder will likely be fine running with the double-big lineup against either team in Round 2, but the Clippers have the personnel to force a lineup change if things begin to go their way.

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