On trade deadline day, the Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired … Chet Holmgren!
No, this is not a trade. But the Thunder have been without their 7-foot-1 big since he took a nasty fall and fractured his hip during a game against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 10. He is not listed on the injury report for Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, and on Thursday morning he announced on social media that he is back. Holmgren started the season on a tear — he averaged 18.2 points (on 63.3% true shooting), 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.9 blocks in 28.8 minutes in the nine games that preceded the injury — and will make the team that currently has the league’s best record (40-9) and best net rating (+13.0) even scarier.
As well as simply making the NBA-best Thunder better, Holmgren will make them more interesting. Last summer, they signed center Isaiah Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks in order to improve their rebounding and diversify their offense. Hartenstein hurt his hand in October, though, so they only got to show off their new, two-big look in three preseason games. (Hartenstein was still sidelined when Holmgren hurt his hip.)
It is a credit to Hartenstein, to Jalen Williams (the 6-foot-5 wing who manned the middle much more effectively than anyone could have expected) and Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault that the team has been so dominant without Holmgren.
The best version of the Thunder, though, is something that we haven’t seen yet, at least in games that count in the standings. I should probably caution that there could be some kinks to work out as Holmgren and Hartenstein get used to playing together, but, given how they’ve shifted shapes throughout the season already, would you be surprised if this is totally seamless?
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