Increased Volume Can Be Beneficial for Cason Wallace in Short-Handed Lineups

Oklahoma City was still without the bulk of its lineup in preseason game No. 2 on Monday night, but the team swapped out a rotation player for another rotation player. After Aaron Wiggins played in the opener, he took to the bench in Dallas on Monday night and Cason Wallace entered the lineup.

It wasn’t the most efficient game for Wallace, but the reps were certainly valuable — and those types of reps will be valuable all season for a player like Wallace. As a point guard at Kentucky, Wallace played on-ball offensively quite a bit and orchestrated the Wildcats offense. With the Thunder’s meteoric rise to the top and Wallace’s unbelievable defensive skillset, though, the quickest way for him to get on the court was in an off-ball role that featured his defense. He has been a 3-and-D staple for the Thunder and a rock solid catch-and-shoot player from the corner.

Oklahoma City knows there’s certainly untapped potential on the offensive end, though. As the team has been competing for championships, however, the full runway hasn’t necessarily been there to experiment. Wallace is good enough as a player now, though, that it’s not even really an experiment — he just needs the reps. On Monday night with the starting lineup sidelined, he got a full body of work. Even though it wasn’t his best offensive game, nights like that will help him tremendously in the long run.

Before the game, head coach Mark Daigneault touched on that exact subject — Wallace has a clear runway to take the next step offensively. He’s already a fantastic two-way player simply due to his defensive skills and the way he fits into the offense perfectly, but he has creation skills and lead guard skills that could propel him to the next level.

“Unbelievably consistent, great competitor,” Daigneault said about Wallace. “Plays both ends of the floor. Obviously had a more narrow role early on, and that’s because of the level of our team and where he has been.

“But we think there’s a lot of runway there, I think we’ll probably see some of that this year, expect him to take a step forward offensively.”

Wallace played 25 minutes and record eight points, six rebounds, and two assists on 3-of-14 from the floor. The increased volume is good for someone like him, though, who wants to continue transforming his game.

In years past, when the starters rest during the regular season, we’ve seen how beneficial the increased volume can be for bench pieces like Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. It’s a major confidence booster and helps the team when the lights are bright in big games. Both Wiggins and Joe have had their fair share of offensive explosions with short-handed lineups.

“I want to be more aggressive, getting to the rim,” Wallace said at media day. “Take more open shots, being more aggressive offensively.”

He’ll certainly have more chances to be aggressive during the season when the action picks up, but getting a trial run in the preseason on Monday night should be a good boost moving forward. And he’ll likely get a few more chances coming up, too.