Chet Holmgren has to be better for Thunder vs Spurs, Wemby. And he knows it
SAN ANTONIO — A single red streak smudged the backboard padding that surrounded one of the baskets inside Frost Bank Center on Sunday night.
Chet Holmgren had smacked his right hand on the glass with such velocity while going for a block that he cut his index finger wide open. And while that blood stain was small enough to be ignored, the other ones weren’t.
Red speckled the back jersey of Keldon Johnson for defending Holmgren. It could also be seen on both ends of the floor while it took about five minutes for San Antonio’s staff and even its Coyote mascot to clean everything up.
That wasn’t how Holmgren had hoped to leave his mark on Game 4.
OKC suffered a 103-82 road loss that tied the Western Conference Finals. And Holmgren finished with just 10 points and nine rebounds on 3-for-8 shooting from the field in 26 minutes.
It’s another underwhelming offensive performance by the star forward, whose series averages of 11.3 points and six rebounds are both career lows. But more importantly, they’re lower than his own standard.
"No matter what I do out there, I always expect more from myself and expect better,” Holmgren said. “I can see a lot of opportunities in the game where I have to be better and take advantage. I'm going to do everything I can to do that."
Those within the Thunder’s locker room have known Holmgren is one of the best players in the league for some time. It then became official about 40 minutes before tipoff when the All-NBA teams were announced.
Holmgren made the third team, marking the 24-year-old forward's first All-NBA selection. It’s a well-deserved achievement for a 7-footer with a unique set of skills. Someone who can roll to the rim, space the floor, switch onto guards defensively and block shots with the best of them.
OKC needed Holmgren to showcase those strengths Sunday even more than usual. There was added pressure on everyone to step up in the absence of Jalen Williams (left hamstring soreness) and Ajay Mitchell (right soleus strain).
And yet Holmgren only attempted eight shots throughout the night, exactly his average for the series. Another career low. The Thunder ultimately finished with a season-low 82 points on 33% shooting from the field (18.2% from deep).
“We went to him a little bit at different times,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “But I just thought the global approach offensively tonight didn’t benefit anybody. It was more of a five-man issue and us holistically. And (it was) San Antonio playing really good defense. It was a combination of us not being as sharp as we could’ve been and San Antonio being really good.
“I don’t know what I could’ve called tonight that would’ve changed it. It was more of like a global approach, slash San Antonio.”
OKC's offense doesn't revolve around Holmgren.
As talented as he is, he's primarily a play finisher. He finds cracks in the defense, where his teammates can feed him for easy buckets. He crashes the glass for putbacks. He's a pick-and-pop threat who has also improved throughout the years to become a real lob threat.
All of those things are difficult to do when Victor Wembanyama, a 7-4 phenom with an 8-foot wingspan, is roaming around. And they're even more difficult when OKC is without two of its top three table setters.
Its other one, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, wasn't able to find Holmgren as much as he usually does either. Gilgeous-Alexander passed the ball to his fellow All-NBA teammate an average of 8.3 times during the first three games of the series, but he only connected with him three times during Game 4.
Holmgren has a usage percentage of 15.4% this series. That's also a career low.
"Chet is an easy target to find, so probably just finding him more in the dunker or when he's spacing," Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked how OKC can get Holmgren more involved. "Just put him in better positions to use his strengths as an offensive talent. I don't know exactly what that looks like because I just got done playing. But watching film, we'll find ways, for sure."
Of course, Holmgren is still involved on the other end of the floor.
The All-Defensive first team forward is playing like one. He's forcing opponents to shoot 24.1% worse than their average from inside 6 feet of the rim, which is even a bigger drop-off than Wembanyama (16.3% worse). He has also had some success when guarding San Antonio's superstar forward, holding him to 9-for-19 shooting (47.4%) from the field in those instances.
Holmgren's teammates know that defensive impact, just like they know what he's capable of doing offensively. They know he has taken over games before with his rare blend of size and skill. They know he keeps putting himself in the right spots, even when he isn't getting fed the ball. And they know his willingness to compete on the big stage.
The guy bleeds basketball.
“Chet doesn’t care about anything besides winning,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s going to do what it takes to win. That’s his biggest skill and his biggest strength. No ego. No agenda. No nothing besides trying to go out there and win. I have no doubt in my mind that Chet will go out there and give the game his all and put his full effort in.”
Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's Chet Holmgren must be better vs Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
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