Bennett Stirtz ☆ Follow

Starts 0 of 3 games · 12th on OKC in minutes · Deep bench role

Bars: minutes in his last 3 games · numbers: points

Situational splits: turn on Prediction tools.

Every situation, with four seasons of history →

No reporter post or news story has named him yet this season; everything below is from podcasts.

• Podcast Justin Martinez, Locked On Thunder · Report · Oct 22

  The opener was the NBA debut for Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz.

  “How OKC Thunder Can IMPROVE After Season Opening Win | Are Nuggets Still Contenders” at 2:07 · listen ↗

  also reported by Rylan Stiles, Locked On Thunder, The Athletic NBA Daily, Locked On Thunder

• Podcast Hardwood Knocks · 2 points · Oct 19
  • Host says the second apron is coming for OKC next year, which makes hitting on Stirtz, Mara or Sorber more important. at 2:58
  • Mort would be very surprised if Mara, Topic, Sorber (to an extent) and Stirtz don't get minutes. at 7:20

  “1 Big Question For Every NBA Teams In The Western Conference” · listen ↗

• Podcast Locked On Thunder · 2 points · Oct 16
  • Rylan Stiles: Styles says Bennett Stirtz has mostly played on the ball in the second halves of preseason games, running the offense for a group of reserves. Styles says that will not be his offensive role during the season. at 4:32
  • Rylan Stiles: Styles' opinion: in his limited off-ball preseason minutes, Bennett Stirtz has looked really good. at 4:47

  “UNDERRATED Storyline Line for OKC Thunder You MUST Pay Attention To” · listen ↗

• Podcast Locked On Thunder · 4 points · Oct 15
  • Nick Crain: Crane refers to a recent 26-point outing by Bennett Stirtz and says he has been much better than Crane expected. at 7:44
  • Nick Crain: Crane thought Bennett Stirtz would have a real role in year one, with his path to minutes being Isaiah Joe's role in the rotation. He thinks that may happen sooner than he first expected. at 7:30
  • Nick Crain: Crane says the guard minutes will go to Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and McCain. He thinks Bennett Stirtz, though a tier below them, will also get a lot of guard minutes, and that the question will be how to get him 9-10 minutes a night. at 7:58
  • Rylan Stiles: The host thinks the ship has sailed on Bennett Stirtz improving much as an individual defender. He says OKC would aim to hide him by surrounding him with three or more good defenders, and that the team has the lineups to do that. at 8:57

  “WHO IS STOPPING the OKC Thunder? | Season Preview” · listen ↗

• Podcast Locked On Thunder · 2 points · Oct 13
  • OKC played zone in the third quarter with Mara anchoring the middle. The host sees it as a possible way to hide defensive liabilities like McCain and Stirtz. at 23:30
  • Bennett Stirtz went 2-of-6 but created space in the mid-range. The host says he has had a heavy week of mileage and usage, including second-half lineups and the entire game Monday. at 28:43

  “Evaluating Cason Wallace Preseason | OKC Thunder STARS look READY | Aday Mara Does It AGAIN” · listen ↗

• Podcast Locked On Thunder · 8 points · Oct 13
  • Host's opinion: the current group of two-way and Exhibit 10 players is weak and has little NBA staying power, except Mara, Stirtz and possibly Otega Oweh. at 3:28
  • Bennett Stirtz had 26 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 37 minutes. The host introduces the line with "very next night", so which game it was is ambiguous. at 28:05
  • The host says Stirtz leads the NBA in preseason scoring. at 28:14
  • Host's analysis: Stirtz runs the pick-and-roll smoothly and is proving effective off the ball, which the host says college never showed. at 28:18
  • Host's analysis: compared with Summer League, the game has slowed down for Stirtz, and he is making better decisions on the ball even though camp emphasized playing him off the ball. at 34:19
  • Host's opinion: Stirtz's defense is as bad as advertised. The host says the team will need lots of pre-switching to keep him from guarding the ball, and that his body limits him even though he plays hard. at 29:54
  • Open question: how will the Thunder build lineups around Stirtz's defensive weakness? The host thinks Jared McCain is a better defender than Stirtz, and says Stirtz would need strong defenders around him while being hidden in a corner. at 31:09
  • The host is not confident either way about Stirtz's regular-season role. It could be a situational, Lindy Waters-like end-of-quarter shooting role, or a real role right away. at 32:48

  “Aday Mara Preseason Breakout is LEGIT | How to Evaluate Bennett Stirtz | Cason Wallace Update” · listen ↗

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