After a relaxed December, the Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing for a busy stretch of games to start January.
The Thunder will play 17 games in 31 days during January, including five back-to-backs. This will be quite the stark contrast to OKC’s December. The team played only 13 games in 31 days.
The in-season tournament allowed teams such as the Thunder to get more time off because the league only scheduled two games for OKC during the week of the semifinals and finals.
With so many games scheduled to be played next month, expect Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault to dig deeper into his bench and expand his rotation to avoid overworking his regulars during the middle of the season.
“This is the first of I think 21 games through the month of January, so we have a very condensed schedule — as most NBA teams do — coming up,” Daigneault said about expanding his rotation following their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “And we’re gonna need everybody. … We’ll continue to take a look at our whole roster.”
Playing a packed schedule has already paid dividends for several players on the roster. Players like Vasilije Micic and Tre Mann have recently seen some early game runs after sporadically playing through the first one-third of the season.
Expect Daigneault to utilize his full 17-player roster throughout this stretch as a means to not increase fatigue on his starters.
If OKC is going to make a playoff run, it’ll need its key players to be relatively rested heading into the postseason. The end of the bench could help make that happen by affording the Thunder the luxury of not overworking their starters.
This upcoming stretch could provide opportunities for the Thunder’s three two-way players, specifically second-round rookie Keyontae Johnson, who has spent most of the season with the G League’s OKC Blue.
“It’s been good,” Johnson said on his G League experience. “Just helping me get the reps I need for me to be able to play with the Thunder one day. Just trying to do the best in my role they have me in.”
