Isaiah Hartenstein Must Continue Dominance On The Glass In Round 2

The Thunder big man will need to keep up his production on the offensive boards.

Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during team introductions before game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City will need its big man to keep doing the Thunder’s dirty work in round two. 

The Thunder are set to kick off their Western Conference Semi-Finals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. The Lakers are another roadblock standing in the way of the Thunder’s second straight championship, and must be dealt with accordingly in this series. 

To do so, OKC will have to play to its fullest potential in every aspect of its game. The Thunder have plenty of players like Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Ajay Mitchell who can handle the scoring load, but it takes a rare breed to do the gritty work, and luckily for Oklahoma City, there is nobody else like Isaiah Hartenstein. 

The Thunder big man has been a key piece to the puzzle so far in the playoffs and is looking to continue this impact in the second round. Hartenstein is averaging 11 points per game on 71.4% shooting, which leads the league this postseason. He doesn’t put up many shots, but each one that he does is high quality and has a great chance of going in. 

Hartenstein’s biggest contribution, however, has come on the glass, as he is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. The OKC big man is also leading the postseason in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 4.5. The Thunder are hoping that this dominance continues in the second round, and luckily, Hartenstein has showcased that he can put this type of performance on against L.A. 

The second time these two teams met in the regular season, Oklahoma City didn’t bring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into the fight. Hartensteing helped make up for the lack of the MVP’s points by grabbing offensive boards for second-chance points. He had six offensive boards in this bout and helped pave the way for a Thunder win. 

The Lakers did a good job this season of limiting opponents to second chances, as opponents only average 10.9 offensive rebounds per game against them. If Hartenstein is able to continue to shake this stat up for the Lakers, then that will lead to second-chance points for OKC. 

Oklahoma City will never need Hartenstein to be the flashiest player on the court, and will never need him to carry a large scoring burden for the team. However, they will need him to continue what he does best, which is grinding on the boards and giving the Thunder every chance possible to continue to score.