The Thunder Are Rolling Out a Fever-Dream Starting Lineup Against the Cavs

The Oklahoma City Thunder are rolling out a starting lineup on Monday night that looks like it was pulled from a random number generator.

According to Underdog NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will start alongside Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Mara, and Isaiah Hartenstein against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert: 'Thunder will start Gilgeous-Alexander, Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Mara, Hartenstein on Monday.'"

SGA is out here averaging a clean 26 points a game, and now he is tasked with carrying a frontcourt combination that sounds like a group of guys who just met at the YMCA check-in desk.

Oklahoma City is sitting at 4-2 and coming off a brutal 119-98 blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Playing the second night of a back-to-back, head coach Mark Daigneault is apparently throwing the traditional rotation out the window.

For anyone staring at the prop market, this is the exact type of lineup chaos that turns a safe ticket into a charitable donation. With usual suspects missing from the opening tip, Gilgeous-Alexander is going to have a usage rate that rivals a prime James Harden.

The Thunder currently boast a top-ten defensive rating, but their offense is stuck in the mud at 23rd overall. Rolling out a jumbo lineup featuring Hartenstein and two different guys named Williams is certainly one way to try and fix the spacing issues.

We will find out quickly if this experimental five can actually hang with Cleveland, or if the Thunder are just trying to survive the schedule until they get back home on Wednesday.