OKC Thunder Still Utilizing Regular Season Depth in Postseason Action

Oklahoma City has been a force all season long, and it’s been evident through this team’s depth. No matter who’s been in and out of the lineup, key injuries to star players, whatever the situation has been, this team has found a way to win. Even with one of the most injured rotations amongst contenders, Oklahoma City’s 68-14 record stands out.

From top to bottom, this group is impressively battle tested. In years past, and there are even examples today, the playoffs have been all about stars. From the opening series, starters play the majority of the minutes, the benches shrink tremendously, and the stars are left to shine.

Sure, stars are still the biggest part of basketball, it’s how you get to the big stage. But now more than ever, depth matters — the strength of the entire team matters.

Playoffs can expose liabilities, which is why the bench shrinks oftentimes. It’s hard for specialty players to not get exposed when the floor gets smaller and the matchups become more intentional. Luckily for the Thunder, though, this cast of role players feels different. Sure, the big game experience is lacking with its homegrown talent. But over the course of the season, every individual role player has been given an opportunity and a moment to shine. This unit is certainly battle tested, and that’s what makes Oklahoma City’s depth.

For a second straight season, Mark Daigneault has continued to trust his bench in the postseason. In an era where no substitutions are being made for long stretches of time, starters are having to go the distance, and depth is simply unreliable, Oklahoma City doesn’t really experience many of those same problems. The regular season rotations have carried over into the postseason because Daigneault and company truly believe each one of these players has something different to bring to the floor. Each player in Oklahoma City’s rotation offers a different way to gain a leg up the opponent.

In every single one of the Thunder's first round games, Daigneault played 10 or more players. The games were unique, of course, offerring massive blowouts in both directions at times, but this series was a complete team effort. The Thunder relied on a lot of players throughout the regular season, and it hasn't changed yet.

Of course, there will likely be games where Oklahoma City opts against utilizing 10 players. But the Thunder will never not rely on its bench. The unit has been too good this season to shrink it completely down, and the first round just provided more confirmation.

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