Mark Daigneault addresses Isaiah Hartenstein's playing time after Thunder's win

11/21/2024 06:15 PM

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was pleased to see his team snap a two-game skid on the second night of a back-to-back. After a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double and dominant defensive performance, center Isaiah Hartenstein earned his Thunder Bark initiation during his walk-off interview and praise from Diagneault following a memorable debut in Oklahoma City’s 109-99 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Despite missing 15 games, Hartenstein finished with five blocks and three assists with his impressive double-double. And above all, it provided a significant spark for Daigneault and his team.

“He was great. He brought great energy to the game. We got 66 or 67 games left in the season. So, we’re really not concerned,” Daigneault said. “When a guy hasn’t played yet this season, we’re not really focused on his individual performance tonight. It’s about getting him back out there, getting him reintegrated, and he did a great job of that. I thought he gave us some energy and some life. We’ve grinded it out here for a week and a half without any bigs. The guys have exerted a ton of physical and mental energy in a tough stretch of the schedule anyway.

“So, just having him back, I thought, gave us some energy. Then, the way he played gave us some energy. So, it was really exciting to have him out there,” Daigneault concluded.

Mark Daigneault says no minutes restriction for Isaiah Hartenstein

Jalen Williams says Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren are different, but having Hartenstein back into the fold was impactful, as Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault alluded to. And Daigneault says Hartenstein won’t be plagued by a minutes restriction, which is typically the norm for someone who’s missed 15 games.

“With the nature of that injury, he’s been able to keep his cardio going all throughout. So, he never really fell out of shape,” Daigneault added. “You know it was an injury to his wrist, obviously, so he did a great job throughout the whole course of return to play of keeping himself primed up. There’s no restriction on him. It was basically his wind. And every time I took him out, he’d kind look at me like, “What are you doing? I’m fine.”

“So, we paced him a little bit there in the first half, and in the third and beginning of the fourth, and he looked pretty strong. So, we had him finish. I thought he, obviously, impacted the game quite a bit.”

Daigneault and the Thunder improved to 12-4.

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