Will OKC Thunder End of Bench Players Get Minutes With Recent Injuries?

The Oklahoma City Thunder has enjoyed an impressive stretch over its last four contests.

Despite a narrow road loss to Miami, the team defeated the San Antonio Spurs by 21 points and picked up a 20-point road win against the Houston Rockets, as well as a 32-point road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

These performances have unfortunatly come at a cost for Oklahoma City, though. The team was already without Isaiah Hartenstein, a regular starter, and has since lost three other rotation players due to injury.

Against the Heat, Jalen Williams suffered a hamstring strain that the Thunder said will be reevaluated in two weeks. Then, against the Cavaliers, Alex Caruso and Jaylin Williams eached exited the game in the first half an did not return.

With a tough stretch upcoming, playing without four rotation players will be difficult, and as a result, other members of the team will have to pick up the slack. While players like Ajay Mitchell, Kenrich Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace and others will surely see expanded roles, there is a chance that OKC also turns to a few other players on the end of its bench.

The Thunder are missing two wing players in Jalen Williams and Caruso, and could get rookie Brooks Barnhizer NBA minutes after a few impressive showings in G League by the second-round pick. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound wing is averaging 20.8 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 56.1% from the field and 58.3% from beyond the arc in four regular season games with the OKC Blue.

In 10 games at teh G League Tip Off Tournament, Barnhizer tallied 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 54.8% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range. With his success in the G League, the Thunder's upcoming stretch may be the right time to get Barnhizer more NBA minutes as the team battles injuries.

While the Northwestern prooduct likely won't offer much of a scoring punch yet at the NBA level, Barnhizer is a strong defender and rebounder. Alongside Barnhizer, Ousmane Dieng could see an uptick in minutes as the Thunder is down two of its top wing players.

Dieng has made 20 appearances this season, averaging 4.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and an assist while shooting 44.1% from the field and 43.2% from deep in 11.4 minutes per game. Most of the fourth-year player's minutes have come in garbage time this season, but that could change with a barrage of injuries.

Finally, with two of the Thunder's big men out, Branden Carlson could return to OKC's rotation. Carlson has played in 30 games this year, including two starts, while both Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams were out of the lineup earlier this year.

On the season, the second-year center is averaging 5 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field and 35.2% from beyond the arc.

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.