Why is Chet Holmgren not playing tonight against LA Clippers? Latest on Thunder star's injury (Nov.11)
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without one of their best players for the foreseeable future. They arrived at their matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers severely undermanned, as Chet Holmgren will be forced to be on the sidelines. He's currently out with a hip injury.
What happened to Chet Holmgren?
The third-year pro suffered a right iliac hip fracture. He sustained the injury when he tried to contest a layup attempt by Andrew Wiggins in the Thunder's loss to the Golden State Warriors. He fell hard on the hardwood and was helped off the court and into the locker room.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the team will provide a return to play protocol for Holmgren after 8 to 10 weeks. Needless to say, this is a significant blow to Mark Daigneault's team, especially considering how things are in the frontcourt.
The Thunder will be without Isaiah Harstentein for the next couple of weeks at the very least. With Jaylin Williams also out, they will have to commit to a small-ball style of play and/or pursue someone in free agency.
Of course, that doesn't bode well for their game vs. the Clippers, who rely on Ivica Zubac and a pick-and-roll-heavy offense.
Chet Holmgren's season so far
Holmgren was playing at an All-Star level in his second full season in the league. Through 10 games, he had posted averages of 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 three-pointers per game on 50/37/77 shooting splits. These are nearly identical to numbers from his promising rookie season.
He's the Thunder's second-most important player behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, not only for his ability to stretch the floor with his shooting but also because of his elite rim protection.
Holmgren, who missed his first year in the league with a foot injury, was coming off playing every single game last season, shutting down doubts about his durability because of his lanky and big frame.
Needless to say, this injury won't do much to help his case and the narrative about him being injury-prone. His team will most likely have a tough time getting by on defense without him roaming around the restricted area.
With not many free-agent big men still up for grabs, it'll be interesting to see how GM Sam Presti works his magic, or if coach Daigneault has an ace up his sleeve.