The Thunder’s frontcourt came alive in Game 2. The Oklahoma City Thunder have hit the road and are gearing up to take on the San Antonio Spurs for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio. OKC comes into this game looking to steal a game on the road, with the immense pressure of the series being tied up at one game apiece. Oklahoma City dropped the first game, but rallied and took Game 2 on Wednesday night. Watching these two bouts, it was a very different game played by OKC, and the reasons for both the loss and the win seem to stem from the OKC frontcourt. It’s no secret that Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein had to play better after Game 1. Holmgren only had eight points on a horrific 28.6%, and was just completely neutralized in the game. The same can be said for Hartenstein, as he was practically unplayable, only seeing 12 minutes in the game, and scoring two points. However, coach Mark Daigneault and the two big men got in the lab and figured out the perfect way to play both of them for Game 2. It might not be to the fullest of his abilities, but Holmgren was finally welcomed into the conference finals. The big man put up 13 points on 50% shooting and finally felt more comfortable in the paint around Victory Wembanyama. On the other hand, Hartenstein, the man who was deemed “unplayable”, became alien wrangler No. 1 as he gave Wembanyama the toughest time you could give the star Spurs player. Hartenstein was physical with the Spurs big throughout the duration of the game, and the fatigue set in fast. He basically halved the Spurs star’s points in Game 2 from Game 1 and showed the recipe that is needed to take him down. Having these two big men on the court together once again, let Oklahoma City thrive. With Hartenstein manning the middle, Holmgren was able to take a step out and use his length to cover different areas of the court to handle the Spurs guards. This was the same case on offense as Hartenstein wouldn’t let Wembanyma set up down low, which allowed the Thunder to hit Holmgren on a couple of dump passes for an easy basket. Then, when the Spurs big did get position, Hartenstein was able to sink some floaters to keep him humble. The turnaround from Game 1 to Game 2 was the best it could have been, and now, with the series continuing to stretch on, OKC’s frontcourt will have to continue this dominance so that the series can continue to go in its favor. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow