DENVER, CO – MAY 11: Alex Caruso (9) of the Oklahoma City Thunder fouls Jamal Murray (27) of the … More
Fueled by their hellacious defense, the Oklahoma City Thunder toppled Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets with a blowout 125-93 victory in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday. They’re now headed to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were still in OKC nearly a decade ago.
This is an unprecedented turnaround for a team that finished 24-58 three years ago. The Thunder won a franchise-record 68 games during the regular season and were the No. 1 seed in the West for the second straight year. They’re now set to take on Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the clear catalyst for OKC’s surge over the past few seasons, and the Thunder’s burgeoning young core has provided him with plenty of support. But their acquisitions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein this past offseason might wind up being the final pieces to their championship puzzle.
The Thunder likely would not have advanced past the Nuggets without Caruso or Hartenstein. Both speak to the importance of hitting on-the-margins moves in the NBA, especially with the league’s draconian new collective bargaining agreement inflicting punishment on expensive title hopefuls.
Ironically, the Thunder might have been on the losing end of both transactions from a pure value perspective. But the unique structure of their roster gave them the flexibility to make those moves without worrying about the potential downside.
The Giddey-For-Caruso Swap
The Thunder acquired Caruso from the Chicago Bulls in a one-for-one trade for Josh Giddey, whom OKC selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 draft. The 6’8″ jumbo point guard has a far higher ceiling than Caruso, but the Thunder prioritized Caruso’s fit with the rest of their core and have been handsomely rewarded as a result.
Giddey, who averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 7.2 assists per game this season, is far more of a stat-stuffer than Caruso. However, his dismal three-point shooting and mediocre defense made him a liability in last year’s playoffs. Giddey was so ineffective against the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals that head coach Mark Daigneault wound up benching him ahead of Game 5.
Caruso is nowhere near as much of a well-rounded offensive threat as Giddey. He set career highs last season by averaging 10.1 points and 3.8 assists per game with the Bulls. But his defensive acumen and three-point shooting gave him two clear advantages over Giddey, particularly when envisioning his fit with the rest of OKC’s roster.
Caruso made the NBA’s All-Defensive teams in each of the past two seasons despite playing fewer than 30 minutes per game in both years. Had he not missed the 65-game minimum cutoff this year, he’d likely be in for his third straight All-Defense nod. He has ranked in the 97th percentile or above in Dunks and Threes’ defensive estimated plus/minus in five of the past six seasons, and he set a new personal best with a plus-3.9 in that metric this year.
Caruso’s defensive versatility was on full display against the Nuggets, particularly in Game 7. Chet Holmgren didn’t have the heft to defend Jokić one-on-one, which left the Thunder scrambling for answers all series long. Hartenstein held his own against his former teammate, and third-string center Jaylin Williams filled in admirably at times as well. But Caruso swung the game in the second quarter by defending Jokić despite being a half-foot shorter than him and roughly 100 pounds lighter.
“According to Genius IQ, Caruso defended Jokić for 40 half-court matchups in Game 7, the most by a guard on Jokić in any game of his career,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne relayed after the game. Jokić averaged a dismal 0.78 points per possession “when he touched the ball and Caruso was on him,” Shelburne added.
After the game, Daigneault told reporters that the volume of possessions with Caruso guarding Jokić “was a result of how effective it was.” However, he said it was “a priority” for the Thunder going into Game 7.
“If you’re putting a 6’5” guard on a player like that, you need relentless help and pressure on the entry passes, and it all works together,” Daigneault added. “So he had an amazing effort individually, but it takes a team defense to make that effect, and the guys executed the hell out of that.”
Giddey was eligible for an extension last offseason, and the Thunder likely didn’t want to shell out major money for him after his playoff struggles last year. They had to account for future extensions for both Holmgren and Jalen Williams, and the league’s new CBA makes it extremely difficult to build around three players on massive contracts, let alone four. Instead, they arguably downgraded in terms of overall talent but flipped Giddey for a player who fit their team identity like a glove.
With Caruso in the fold, the Thunder boasted the NBA’s most efficient defense during the regular season by far. The gap between them and the second-ranked Orlando Magic was nearly equivalent to that between Orlando and the eighth-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers. That has carried over to the playoffs, which gives them something to fall back on even when shots aren’t falling for them.
Hartenstein Fortifies The Frontcourt
Prior to this season, Hartenstein had never averaged more than 8.3 points per game in a single season. He put up 7.8 points and a career-high 8.3 rebounds per game with the New York Knicks last year, but he played only 25.3 minutes per game.
That’s hardly the profile of someone who would wind up signing one of the richest deals in free agency this past offseason. But that’s exactly what the Thunder gave him when they signed him to a three-year, $87 million contract, one that looked like a clear overpay from the moment the ink dried.
Hartenstein’s contract was another example of the Thunder exploiting the margins to their advantage. The new CBA forces teams to reach the league’s salary floor (90% of the salary cap) by the first day of the regular season, so OKC had to spend that money one way or another last offseason. The Thunder could have used that cap space to take on unwanted contracts from another team along with additional prospects or draft picks, but they were already chock-full of both.
The Thunder knew that they had a two-year window before extensions for Holmgren and Williams would kick in. Not-so-coincidentally, they gave themselves a $28.5 million team option in Hartenstein’s contract for the 2026-27. In the meantime, he would fortify their frontcourt depth, and he could serve as a massive expiring contract as a trade chip as early as next season.
The pairing has worked out splendidly on the court, too. Hartenstein provided the Thunder with the size and physical toughness that they were lacking in last year’s playoff loss to the Mavericks. He led the team with 10.7 rebounds in only 27.9 minutes per game during the regular season, and he was third in assists at 3.8, trailing only Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. The Thunder wound up outscoring opponents by 12.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, which ranked in the 96th percentile leaguewide.
Hartenstein battled valiantly with Jokić throughout their playoff series. He was the Thunder’s best hope of defending the three-time MVP one-on-one until Caruso’s heroics in Game 7. OKC might have overpaid him this offseason on a production-per-dollar basis, but he earned every penny of his $30 million salary in the conference semifinals.
A tough test awaits the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, where Caruso and Hartenstein again figure to play critical roles. If they wind up winning this year’s championship—they’re the NBA’s clear title favorites heading into the conference finals—the offseason acquisitions of Caruso and Hartenstein will be a major reason why.
These days, NBA teams can’t rest on their laurels after acquiring superstars such as Gilgeous-Alexander and young, high-upside players like Williams and Holmgren. Rounding out the supporting cast with the right fits is what separates championship contenders from pretenders, as the depth-starved Nuggets fell perhaps only one player short from knocking off the Thunder.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
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