Thunder big man Chet Holmgren entered Saturday’s game with a questionable tag due to lower back soreness before being upgraded to available. And after a hot start in Atlanta in which he scored 14 first-quarter points, Holmgren suffered a dislocated thumb in the second quarter on a failed block attempt, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).
According to Martinez, Holmgren wanted to pop the injured digit into place himself and return to the game, but the team insisted he needed to undergo X-rays. The 23-year-old wound up having a big night once he was medically cleared to resume playing, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a block in 27 minutes.
“He’s always got that,” head coach Mark Daigneault said of Holmgren’s toughness. “He’s always ready to go. Great competitor. … He came out tonight teeing up those shots and saw a couple go in. He had a great game flow tonight.”
Reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes Holmgren, who signed a rookie scale max extension this offseason, is primed for a huge year.
“He’s stronger, faster and more explosive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Martinez. “He’s just getting more comfortable. With a guy with his natural feel, as the games go on, he’ll continue to grow and be better. We’ve just got to continue to ignite him as teammates.”
Here’s more on the defending champions:
- After double-overtime thrillers against Houston and Indiana resulted in Gilgeous-Alexander playing a combined 93 minutes, the superstar guard got some much-needed rest on Saturday, according to Martinez (subscription required). Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes, and was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter with the Thunder firmly in control of their third straight victory. “It’s the gauntlet of the NBA season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You never know what to expect. In the summertime, you try to prepare for the worst in terms of load-wise, and I think we’ve done a great job of being ready for the start of the season. We’ve had some pop for these first three games despite having a few double-overtime games.”
- Thunder guard Cason Wallace, who was competing against his older brother Keaton Wallace, did an admirable job slowing down Hawks star Trae Young, Martinez adds in the same story. Young finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, Martinez notes. “He’s just got unbelievable hands, athleticism, toughness and a combination of things,” Daigneault said of Cason. “He seems to be a dude who, when he’s near the ball, he comes up with it. … He’s the guy at the bottom of a pile who’s gonna get the fumble and come up with the football.”
- Ajay Mitchell is off to an excellent start to the season, averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .467/.417/1.000 shooting through three games (27.0 MPG). As Martinez writes for The Oklahoman (subscriber link), Mitchell poured in a career-high 26 points in Thursday’s win, which was particularly meaningful for the second-year guard, as it occurred on his late grandmother’s birthday. “She was very important (to me),” Mitchell said of his grandmother, who passed away in February. “She was always there for me. She was definitely on my mind this whole night. … I’m glad I got to play that way for her. She means the world to me, so I’m glad I did that.”
SGA must be so tired shooting 900 free throws a game. Grifting ain’t easy!
Took a whoppin’ 4 free throws last night!
And still leads the league at 14.7/gm
Be honest. How many of free throws were awarded to him towards the end of two straight double overtime games?
He had 6 ftas from take fouls – but shot 24 in the game.
Absurd amount of ref help.
So quit fouling him, sag off and make him hit the midi just like they did with all the prolific free throw shooters of days of yore like Jordan, Kobe and Wade. He’s still gonna kill you either way.
He won’t though. He is 100% a product of referee corruption. If Curry gets SGA whistle he gets 40 FTs a game. SGA never even beat Curry last year, OKC are frauds until they beat GSW in the playoffs. Argue with a wall. Win another ring then we can talk.
Lol, that’s silly. The problem is they call marginal to zero contact for him, and much of it he initiates by jumping into defenders.
26 free throws for one player is absurd and terrible for the game. No player other than Shaq gets fouled 13 times in a game.
Holmgren looks like he’s leveled up, at least so far. Hopefully he stays heathy all season.
It’s how he started last year before the hip injury. Dude’s ready to be a superstar if he can stay healthy. Love his game and growth
Chet is more talented than SGA. I 100% believe this.