Losing to the red-hot Golden State Warriors is one thing, but losing one of your best players to injury is another, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will have to make do without Chet Holmgren for the foreseeable future. One of the best young big men in the modern NBA is out indefinitely with a pelvic fracture, sustained after a hard fall in the Warriors game. Moreover, Holmgren's injury means the Thunder are out three of their big men: Chet, new signing Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams.
The Thunder's big man options
After losing Holmgren against the Warriors, the Thunder will have to explore other options at the front court.
They've lost a reliable outside shooter who can spread the floor enough for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to finish at the rim, take his mid-range jumpers, or kick the ball out to another shooter.
Defensively, the Thunder have two of the best rim protectors in the league: Holmgren and Hartenstein. Likewise, Jaylin Williams gives additional size and shot-blocking, and he can guard on the perimeter as well.
However, Hartenstein is out with a hand fracture, while Williams has a sprained left ankle.
Their absence means the team only has Ousmane Dieng and Malevy Leons as their next tallest players, at six-foot-nine, who are relatively undersized when compared to contenders like the Timberwolves or the Nuggets.
Additionally, the physicality of these teams are likely to overwhelm both players, so the team might consider playing them depending on matchups. True enough, one of their weaknesses from last season was their lack of size and strength on the inside.
If they do need size against bigger and stronger teams, they'll need to prove they can hold their own against Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama, and so on.
Small ball
However, the key to the Thunder's success would be to lean on their youth, athleticism on the perimeter, and their speed. Offensively, they have enough legs to run back and forth for 48 minutes.
Their small-ball lineup could also involve a debuting Kenrich Williams, injured from the preseason.
Likewise, Mark Daigneault's willingness to tinker with his lineups gives him several possibilities to play small. For instance, defensive guard Alex Caruso has played the small-ball five at times, due to injury, which gives the team the ability to play swarming defense on the perimeter and prevent interior penetration at the point of attack.
As a last-ditch effort, the Thunder could use the Disabled Player's Exception (DPE), which would let them sign or trade for a single player to replace their injured star until the end of the season, per Spotrac.
However, the team has a reasonable belief that Holmgren can return sometime during the season, so there might be no need for the DPE at the moment. They have until March 10 to decide to apply for an exception.
For now, the Thunder may still have enough depth to field different lineups who could play different styles on both sides of the ball. Losing Chet Holmgren is definitely a blow, but the team has enough pieces to find ways to win games.
Follow Us
Subscribe
