OKLAHOMA CITY — At 7-foot-1, it’s difficult to go unnoticed.
But for the majority of his 23 minutes, 31 seconds in Game 1, Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren was invisible, a non-factor in the Indiana Pacers’ stunning 111-110 victory Thursday, June 5.
Holmgren scored a playoffs-low six points on 2-for-9 shooting, including a miss on his only 3-point attempt. It was also his third-fewest minutes on the court in the playoffs. He also had just 28 touches offensively compared to 40 touches in the series clinching Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against Minnesota. He had 47 touches in Game 4 against the Timberwolves.
As Oklahoma City’s third-leading scorer behind NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Star Jalen Williams, Holmgren needs to be more involved and productive offensively in Game 2 against the Pacers on Sunday, June 8 (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
“I feel like I could have slowed down, kind of finished some of those plays at the rim,” Holmgren said. “Obviously it hurts in a one-point loss. One single difference on one single play could have decided the whole game. Puts a magnifying glass on every single instance in the game.”
Of Holmgren’s seven missed shots, six were in the paint, including four that were considered layups in the shot chart.
“Above everything else, just worrying more about impacting the game in all of the facets and just try to let that take care of itself. If you just focus on that, you’re going to start putting a lot more pressure on that and you’re not going to be focused on everything else that’s important, too.”
The Thunder used a different starting lineup in Game 1, inserting guard Cason Wallace in place of center Isaiah Hartenstein. It went away from Oklahoma City’s two-big lineup featuring Holmgren and Hartenstein. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the pair averaged 12.6 minutes on the court together. They did not log one minute together in Game 1.
“… our responsibility is to be ready to execute no matter what the coaches ask us to do out there,” Holmgren said. “In Game 1, that was to play more single-big. Whether the coaches ask us to do that or ask the team to go small or ask the team to go double-big, we have to be ready to do that and execute it, and that’s what we have to focus on.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault declined to say what he planned for his starting lineup in Game 2.
“I know we started the same lineup in the playoffs, but our rotation night to night in these series has been incredibly variant,” Daigneault said. “We think that’s a strength of our team. I liked how we started the game, and I liked, really, everything we did to build a 15-point lead, and then we didn’t deliver down the stretch collectively.
“But we are always trying to learn from it. … We understand the tradeoffs with every lineup we put on the court. We’ll continue to try to make every decision we can to give ourselves the best chance to win. That’s what we did in Game 1. Didn’t turn out in our favor, but that’s what we’ll do in Game 2 and moving forward.”
Holmgren averaged 15.0 points on 49% shooting during the regular season and averaged 16.4 points on 48.9% shooting in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
To a lesser extent but still important to the Thunder’s success, they also require a more efficient game from Williams, who had 17 points on 19 shots.
Daigneault did not want to address their performances specifically. “I don’t think anybody played their best game,” he said. “Certainly, he didn’t play his best game, but I don’t think any of us did. That wasn’t our best game, flat-out, with anybody.”
But Daigneault also reminded NBA media that both players were drafted in 2022 – Holmgren No. 2 and Williams No. 12. They are 23 and 24 years old, respectively, starring on the youngest team to make the NBA Finals since 1954-55. Holmgren, who missed the 2022-23 season, has played in 114 regular-season games and just 27 playoffs games the past two seasons. Despite his role, he has limited experience and is in his first Finals.
“What I will say is like he and Dub, specifically, obviously they have carved out huge roles on our team,” Daigneault said. “They are a huge reason why we’re here. They are in an uncommon position for third-year players. … Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players.”
But, that’s how the Thunder are built, and Holmgren and Williams have earned their roles as the two main scorers after Gilgeous-Alexander. You win – or lose – with what got a team to this point.
“They have thrust themselves into that situation, which is a credit to them,” Daigneault. “And now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs, which is go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons, and apply it forward.
“And they have done a great job of that. You’ve seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven’t always played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one. The last guy I’m worried about that is Chet.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle shared his concern: “Chet is going to be more aggressive.”
That’s definitely part of the Thunder’s plan to even the series. Holmgren needs to make his presence known.