22-year old center Cole Aldrich is likely to be doing a lot more watching than playing as a rookie this year for the Thunder. Right now he probably sits #4 or #5 on the Thunder’s depth chart at center. Aldrich has played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Thunder so far this year and he is averaging 8.3 minutes, 0.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. The Thunder traded for Aldrich last June with their eyes looking down the road.

21-year old PF/C Serge Ibaka started to show what he could do at the end of last season and in the playoffs. A injury to starting power forward Jeff Green has opened up a starting job for Ibaka and he is taking off with it. Ibaka has played in 11 games (5 starts) for the Thunder so far this year and he is averaging 29.9 minutes, 12.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 2.6 blocked shots per game. He is shooting 59.1% from the floor and 82.9% from the free throw line already this year. Jeff Green had better get healthy soon because Ibaka is a much better defender and rebounder than he is.

22-year old center Cole Aldrich is off to a slow start for the Thunder. That’s because he’s buried on the depth chart at center right now. Aldrich has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Thunder so far this year and he is averaging 9.6 minutes, 1.0 point and 2.2 rebounds per game so far this year. With the Thunder having sights on making a deep playoff run this year I can’t see them giving Aldrich many minutes this year unless there are injuries to some of the guys in front of him on the depth chart.

UPDATE: (11/25/2010) - The Thunder have sent Cole Aldrich to the D-League to play with the Tulsa 66ers. With Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka ahead of Aldrich at center, this was the right move so he can start getting some P.T.

The Thunder were helped out off the bench big time by their solid cast of rookies. 20-year old shooting guard James Harden played the most of this bunch. He played in 76 games (0 starts) for the Thunder this season and he averaged 22.9 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Look for him to really challenge Thabo Sefolosha for the starting job at shooting guard next season. 20-year old C/PF Serge Ibaka really came on in the second half of the year for the Thunder. He played in 73 games (0 starts) for the Thunder this season and he averaged 18.1 minutes, 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He will likely be a big part of the bench for the Thunder next season. 22-year old point guard Eric Maynor really helped the Thunder big time after coming over from the Jazz in a trade during the year. He played in 55 games (0 starts) for the Thunder this year and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Maynor played in 81 games (2 starts) overall for the Thunder & Jazz this season and he averaged 15.7 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He will continue to give Russell Westbrook a break in the future to keep him fresh. Maynor has the potential to take over for Westbrook as the starter if he gets injured at some point in the future. 21-year old center B.J. Mullens looks like a developmental project for the Thunder. He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Thunder last season in which he averaged 4.2 minutes, 1.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

The Thunder will be without rookie shooting guard James Harden for the next 2-4 weeks with a right hamstring strain. This will be a blow to the Thunder as Harden has played well this year for them. Harden has played in 63 games (0 starts) this season for the Thunder in which he has averaged 23.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Thunder will probably need starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha to step up and play more minutes while Harden is out. Sefolosha has played in 63 games (all starts) for the Thunder this season and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 5.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.