Chet Holmgren in the win: 30/14/5 with 2 steals, 4 blocks on 10⁄13 FG
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401811018
30 points
14 rebounds
5 assists
2 steals, 4 blocks, 10⁄13 FG, 7⁄10 FT, 3⁄4 3PT
Career game for him. He was unstoppable
Monster game and much needed for that confidence heading into the post season
30 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, 2 steals. Just writing that out HOLY SHIT.
If Chet hits his offensive ceiling more regularly and consistently, OKC becomes even more unbeatable. Crazy that they still have another gear to reach.
And even in his current form, Chet is so valuable and absolutely worth that mega contract. The floor spacer + rim protector archetype is worth its weight in gold.
The team just needs to feed him more often. I feel like they tried to use him as an almost dollar tree version of KD but as a center, where they just hand him the ball 18 feet out and let him iso, but he’s much better playing in this role. Having JDub back as a playmaker and lob thrower definitely helps
I think his confidence is just growing. My gripe with him is I feel at times he doesn’t realize how big he is and how well he can actually play. Also as if he’s afraid to make mistakes. He played with so much confidence tonight it was refreshing to see.
Every time Chet spins I cry
The defense alone is huge he totally removes paint scoring at times
An underrated aspect is also that Chet is crazy efficient as well. His TS is over 65 this season.
He’s one of the 15-20 best players in the league, and arguably borderline top 10 when you look at his defensive impact closely.
Truly insane OKC has the 2nd best best rim protector in the NBA + 3 of the top 5 or 6 perimeter defenders in the NBA. That’s what makes them such a juggernaut
And Hart is no slouch, adding smart brute force rim protection and rebounding. That double big is a handful.
Also even the non-premier defenders are mostly good defenders. There’s so little that any offense can target, other than trying to take advantage of the system aggression for open looks that OKC is mostly okay giving up
I would probably put him in the 11-16 range slash tier.
Its always someone hard to truly quantify the level of defense he provides, while his offense remains inconsistent. If he did consistently show like he did tonight offensively, he would be a top ten player for sure.
At the moment he is sitting 8th in EPM for the year, which is realistically 7th due to Ty Jeromes very odd placement, being just behind Kawhi Leonard.
Chet for some reason gets hated on because Wemby exists as pretty much the most physically gifted basketball player ever.
But if Chet has a strong offensive Playoffs, people will take notice of just how damn impactful he ultimately is.
theres no way anyone legitimately thinks CHET HOLMGREN is anywhere close to top 10 player 😭😭😭😭 you cannot be serious man
Very fitting that it was to seal the #1 seed.
Right when we needed it too! Best time for him to go nuclear.
Doing it all out there. Awesome showing
Very underrated player because of the constant Wemby comparisons
A player who can both protect the rim at an elite level and shoot the 3 is going to be top 20ish in terms of actual championship-building value even if the box score stats aren’t flashy
He’s the type of player that raises the ceiling which for non-1st options is much more important than being a mid-level floor raiser that turns a 30 win team into a 40 win team
Hes got a lot in common with Wemby and is objectively less talented that Wemby at most things they have in common. That said 65-85% Wemby (depending on the night) is still a pretty fucking good player.
Tonight Chet was 100% wemby. This would’ve been an exceptional game for wemby
Wemby is still in a different league in terms of ball security and control off the dribble, two things I’m hoping to see Chet improve on next season
Does chet still do that thing where he charges up his 3 point shot for like 10 seconds and gets blocked? feel like he could speed up his release a little
He does but the McCain addition has made it less of a problem.
A bit better but it still not great. The main issue is not getting blocked ocasionally, its just that he ends up taking less shots than he could because he needs more separation to get his shot off.
Building strenght and speeding up his shot is the two things that can unlock him into a perennial all-nba player
because he needs more separation to get his shot off.
Why does he need separation at that height with that wingspan? Just shoot over 95% of the league
Because his shot is slow and gives defenders time to contest. He is also not a great shot maker on tighly contested 3s. He easily gets off balance. I feel that speeding up his shot and just improving his strenght and balance will fix all that and he will be able to increase his shot volume in all spots
Yes but I think it might be somewhat intentional, like he’s trying to keep a good form taught from Chip our “league best” shooting coach (not sure if I believe that), and hopefully it’ll speed up as it becomes more second nature to him
Good lord
lol. This was basically a normal Wemby game and bro is 1 2⁄3 years older than Victor.
Chet would be the best defender of the league without Wemby that’s for sure.
Like you said, he suffers from being compared to Wemby, but he’s still a very good player.
He’s closer to top 10 than top 20 if you look at his defensive impact closely.
Yeah, wemby is a top 2 player but chet is still surprisingly top 10 according to impact stats https://dunksandthrees.com/epm/actual
So you’re taking Chet over Lauri?
I’d say he’s kind of over rated. He’s putting up 17/9/2 with 2 blocks on 55/35/80 efficiency while being the 2nd/3rd option.
He finally had a really solid 2 way impactful game, but the way some people talk about him is why i’d say he’s inching into over rated territory. He only has these kinds of games once or twice every couple of months, but some of the narratives around him treat him as if he could easily be a 1A with Shai or a first option on another team.
I’m not trying to be a hater for hating sake, just want to drive discussion around it because I’m honestly curious how others feel. I feel like for his skill set, and what he should be able to do, he’s under delivering.
That’s really good stars as a 3rd option………. Plus he does alot more on defense than the stats say. You would know that having a giant MF down there too. They impact the game so much without it being on the stat sheet.
He has plenty of impactful 2 way games. He was an all-star for a reason.
And who are these people who say he can be a 1a 1b player with SGA???? I have no idea what you are talking about.
Chet isnt overrated, he is in fact, very underrated by the casuals. While his offense is streaky, he has a constantly elite defensive impact, an easy top 5 defender in the league. If his shot isnt falling, he still is a very clear plus with defense + finishing at the rim. If the shot is falling, he looks like an all-nba player.
He is overrated if you compare him to wemby, like the casuals love to do.
The numbers are very clear, he is a top 20 player based on impact stats and thats a damm great player for a 3rd year
17 points from your third option is great what are you talking about? Nvm being one of the best rim protecters in the league.
Show me a team that doesn’t want Chet as their “3rd option” (whatever that means) and I’ll show you a dumb team.
He plays in the system, for the system, and his ceiling is still undefined.
He can touch all of the ceilings, except for the ceiling that Wemby can touch
“I’m not trying to be a hater” yet calls him overrated LMAO okay Spurs fans still butthurt about a ROTY race
Chet’s a top 2 defender in the league and is putting up solid-good offensive production at only 23 years old, if this wasn’t Chet, people wouldn’t be calling him overrated lol
He’s only overrated if you think he was going to be prime KD on offense and thats a you problem in that case. Even if he’s not KD on offense, he’s still more offensively versatile/advanced than a majority of centers in the league
I really don’t understand this response. I said I think he’s kind of over rated and provided context as to why I think so. “Butthurt” feels like a deflection utilizing an insult to avoid talking about how he is under performing for the offensive skillset he’s supposed to have.
He has not improved nor changed his game from the end of year 1 to now and has essentially remained the same player. Which is a good defender that is a pick and pop threat. At his size only averaging 7 attempts with in the 3 point line is a travesty. Either he is too weak to bang in the paint, or he doesnt have the bag to consistently get to the paint. Which is where the crux of my argument comes from. People(namely thunder fans, just look at the replies to this) have this weird notion that Chet is an absolute monster in the paint.
I think ultimately. Chet is pretty much Kristaps Porzingus lite, the Boston years to today. If you want to feel offended over someone trying to drive discussion about a player you like, I don’t know what to tell you, but saying someone is “butthurt” isn’t really adding to conversation.
Oh so its just a coincidence that its mainly Spurs fans that hate and/or are overly critical on Chet? okay yeah sure lol
Way to downplay Chet lol calling Chet just a good defender is like calling Wemby just a good shot blocker. Chet is a top 2 defender itl at worst. He only allows 47% at the rim which is significantly lower than Gobert, Wemby, Mobley, and every other defensive big
You’re just stat watching if you don’t think he’s improved. His rebounding has improved a lot and this is statistically his best year efficiency wise. Even with all the criticisms about his self creation, thats also improved as well.
Your “criticisms” aren’t even valid. You say he’s bad in the paint, he shoots 81% at the rim lol he just doesn’t get set up in the PnR well. Also why should a 7’2 center be consistently creating off the dribble for themselves? That’s not a necessity for Cs, its something additional
Also if self creation is such a negative for Chet, you might want to criticize Wemby too because Wemby has more of his 2Ps assisted than Chet
Now you’re creating arguments that Ive never said to give more validity to your own rebuttal. I never said Chet was bad in the paint. I said he is either too weak or doesn’t have the bag to consistently get into the paint, and that at his size averaging only 7 shots with in the 3 point line is a travesty.
The focal point of this conversation has been his offensive game. Rebounding has nothing to do with this discussion. Also, I’m sorry? How dare I say that Chet is a good defender! Why even put such an emphasis on such minute thing? And you want to say that im butthurt? lmao
The assisted twos? The VAST, and I mean VAST majority of those are from Victor getting favorable positioning under the the basket and getting an easy lay/alley oop because of it. Why doesn’t chet do this? Circling back, because he doesn’t have the finesse nor strength to consistently get positioning in the paint with and with out the ball.
You can bleed as much as you want on those rose tinted glasses, man. Chet’s offensive game hasn’t grown. There are straight up mulitple times this season where the Thunder have just gone away from calling plays for Chet all together. Last time yall played the Celtics chet wasn’t even on the floor to close the game out.
Him not having a high FGA in the paint is a coaching/scheme issue, not a player issue. We don’t run plays for Chet + they rarely use him in the PnR and opt to use him like a wing/perimeter player
Lmao what? Brother you were the one that said he’s the same player as his rookie year so I pointed out area he improved in. Why put an emphasis on a “minute” thing? So you’d have no problem with someone saying Wemby’s “just a good defender” then? No yall would be crying if anyone said that. Its like saying Luka/Shai is just a good scorer, someone top 2 in an aspect is not just good, they’re elite. You saying he’s just good is a small, but obvious tell that you’re continuing to try downplay Chet
They’ve gone away from calling play for Chet? They never did that in the first place, which is my biggest gripe with our coaching staff lol this is again you talking like you know so much about Chet/Thunder when in reality you’re just stat/box score watching
Btw if Wemby the best defender in history like Spurs fans say, why did he get B2B belt from Jokic and Embiid. 40 and 34 on his head back to back is nastyyyy 🤢
I agree with some of what you’re saying. I’ve been disappointed with his inability to scale up to first and at times even second option consistently this season. He’s still too passive for my liking.
The fact is he could be exactly this and still be a really really damn good player. But as someone who expects a little more out of him, I’ve been a bit disappointed this year.
I also am not sure the Thunder can get away with him not being as impactful as he could be on offense this year i.e. if their offense stagnates this year like it did last year, I dont know that they’ll repeat.
All that to say I see where you’re coming from and I’m not sure if we’re judging too harshly/being impatient or if this is a real “concern”
Also something you and others are missing is that production is basically coming as the second option because Dub has only played in 32 games.
Maybe the only OKC game all year where SGA’s played and clearly not been their best player?
I’d probably agree. Thinking back the other great performances were when Shai was out.
Maybe the March 15th Wolves game when Shai barely got to 20? That most recent game against Chicago he wasn’t great either, it’s been rare for sure
Probably lol 😂 I think we have had at most 3 30 point games outside of Shai all year
The Cason game at Toronto, the Dub game in phoenix. Shai was out those I believe.
And JWil once
JDub only had 28 in the phoenix game if we’re nitpicking, but it was in 3 quarters so still insanely impressive
iHart game vs the Kings as well
Nah there have been a few bad SGA shooting nights when he’s double teamed and scraped out 20 but didn’t look the best. Rare though that he isn’t the top scorer
Teams have been absolutely loading up on Shai the past couple of weeks.
His scoring has been down but our 3pt shooting has been scorching hot, because there’s always someone open when you double or triple Shai.
Great last push for All-NBA
Is that really a possibility for him lol. I’m too lazy to think who’s ahead of him but off the top of my head I would never think he’s up there unless a ton of guys don’t qualify.
I would be kinda surprised if he didn’t make 3rd team
Very high likelihood he gets 3rd team tbh
All nba 3rd team is possible not sure tho def All defensive 1st team tho
Homer obviously but I don’t think even in a healthy field it would be ridiculous for him to get on as the 13th-15th guys on All-NBA Third Team
Probably in the Jalen Johnson/KAT/Bam/Scottie Barnes/Mobley range
And among those guys I’d really only have Jalen Johnson ahead of him this year personally
Dependas whether you go with impact over boxscore
With how many guys won’t make it due to injuries, it is very likely. He’s also the second best / second most reliable player on the #1 seed. Seems reasonable to have two guys in the All NBA again.
With all the guys who will miss due to the 65 game rule he will probably make 3rd team
yeah okc probably won’t be the first seed with only 1 all nba player, probably?
I mean i could see him possibly making 3rd team with the amount of players not qualifying + Chet’s level of two way play this year
Just from last years All NBA teams all of Tatum, Curry, Giannis, Ant, LeBron, JDub, Cade, and Hali don’t qualify this year
Keep this up in the playoffs and we’d be unstoppable. Hell of a performance for Chet
Might be the best game I’ve ever seen from him. A confident Chet is dangerous
Last games I saw this good were before the hip injury
The coaching staff needs to watch this game on repeat to see how to create offense for Chet they need to totally limit the amount he dribbles the ball
Even his dribbles were better today
It’s because he passed it out when guys would set up for the reach in to poke it away
He was on crack today. Absolute demon on both ends of the floor.
Chet “Russell Westbrook” Holmgren
He is a winner.
Holy Chet
Monster game by him
Favorite part was how decisive he was on offense today
Crazy dominant in that game. Dude was unstoppable on both ends. Felt like every shot was nothing but net
Black wemby > french wemby
warn a brotha
Man. Wemby ruined everyone’s perception of Chet. Y’all can’t be holding chet to alien standards.
i think he led okc in ever statistical category lol
Shai and Dub had more assists (because they were feeding Chet lol)
Beast mode today
Monstrous effort all around. Thorough highlight reel of slams, boards, threes and blocks all night
Dominated the game from both ends.
Chetbenyama!!!
I’m proud of Abraham getting 30. Probably his best performance!
CHET 💪🏻
He’s just a winner, a player literally any team in the NBA would love to have