There is a tendency for excellent teams to fall asleep at the wheel during the dog days of a six-month regular-season grind. The Oklahoma City Thunder are no exception to this. The Thunder let their foot off the gas pedal on Monday when they relinquished a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Minnesota Timberwolves en route to a three-point loss in overtime, and it looked like their lethargy carried over to Wednesday night during their clash against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets may be more competitive than expected, but this is a team that the Western Conference-leading Thunder should be taking care with so much ease. But instead, the Nets pushed them to the brink, requiring the Thunder to find their second wind on defense, forcing turnovers and turning the game on its head in the fourth quarter en route to a 129-121 victory.

The important thing for teams as great as the Thunder is to find a way to win even on subpar nights. And on Wednesday, the responsibility to keep OKC afloat fell on Chet Holmgren's shoulders — much to the delight of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who faced a swarm of Nets defenders all night long.

“Chet was very steady – running around, rebounding, making the right plays, finishing around the rim. He kept us within reach the whole night, and then when it was time we were able to strike,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Nick Gallo of FanDuel Sports Oklahoma.

Holmgren was indeed the stabilizing force for the Thunder on a night where OKC was struggling a bit to keep with the Nets on the glass. He ended the night with 22 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks — a marvelous effort that kept OKC within striking distance before they forced a barrage of turnovers to turn the tables on the Nets in the fourth quarter.

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There might be no scarier team in the NBA than a healthy Thunder squad

Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) looks down during a free throw against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Target Center
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Following the 2023-24 season, it became clear that the Thunder needed to beef up their defense and rebounding to get over the hump in the loaded West. And their offseason moves were geared towards rectifying those issues, and now, there may not be a more complete team in the league than the one they have.

Chet Holmgren being back healthy is necessary for the Thunder to reach the level that they need to get to so they can reach their goal of winning the Larry O'Brien trophy.