Thunder Roll Out Chaotic Three-Guard Lineup Against Grizzlies

The Oklahoma City Thunder are rolling out a starting five on Friday that looks like a 2K MyLeague simulation gone completely off the rails. According to Underdog NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jared McCain, Davion Mitchell, Kenrich Williams, and Isaiah Hartenstein will take the floor first against the Memphis Grizzlies.

That is three point guards, a hustle wing, and a traditional center. It is the kind of chaotic lineup construction that sounds like a typo until you remember Mark Daigneault treats his rotation like a giant game of Yahtzee.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert on X."

You can get away with this kind of mad science when you have Gilgeous-Alexander masking the flaws. SGA is currently second in the league in scoring at 30.1 points per game, dragging a 6-2 Thunder squad to within a half-game of the top seed in the Western Conference.

The supporting cast here is fascinating. McCain is chipping in 10.1 points per game, while Williams is doing his usual dirty work with 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds a night. Then there is Mitchell, who is suddenly starting for OKC despite half the stat databases on the internet still listing him in Miami.

For the prop market sickos, this lineup shift changes the math entirely. With three nominal point guards sharing the floor, the usage rate is going to look like a pie chart drawn by a toddler. Gilgeous-Alexander is still going to eat, but figuring out who gets the secondary assists between Mitchell and McCain is a total coin flip.

We will find out exactly how this experiment functions against a Memphis team that is also sitting at 6-2. If this three-guard fever dream actually works, Daigneault is going to look like a visionary. If it gets run off the floor, expect the rotation blender to fire right back up before Sunday's matchup with the Washington Wizards.