Oklahoma City is set for another season, and its star big’s ability to stretch the floor will be as important as ever.
After an offseason filled with changes, the Thunder are finally inching closer to the start of the regular season. With only one more preseason bout left on the schedule, the Thunder can begin preparing for their opening night matchup against San Antonio in a Western Conference Finals rematch.
Back in May, Chet Holmgren’s play in the conference finals was a hot topic of discussion, especially after a subpar Game 7. While he’s had plenty of time to think about that over the summer, Holmgren has been consistent in his message about not focusing an entire offseason on one matchup.
Although Holmgren was criticized throughout the past few months for his showing against the Spurs, it absolutely would’ve been shortsighted to focus the entire summer on that. Coming off a season where he earned All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive honors, Holmgren is in a great spot for his career, even if he had a rough series to finish his third campaign.
Given the Thunder’s offseason departures, one of the key pieces of Holmgren’s game coming into this season will be his 3-point shot. Throughout his career, Holmgren hasn’t been afraid to let it fly, and his ability to knock down those shots consistently again this season will be as important as ever.
With the Thunder losing some of their wing depth in the offseason, Holmgren’s time playing at center will likely decrease. Adding Thomas Sorber and Aday Mara to a big man rotation that already has no shortage of talent, Holmgren will be relied upon to play more on the perimeter offensively.
For his career, Holmgren hasn’t had much variance in his outside shooting numbers, putting up somewhere in the neighborhood of four 3-point shots a game and nailing roughly 37% of them. Considering Holmgren could easily end up playing more time at the four than he has in any previous year, hitting those consistently and even increasing his volume could be huge for Oklahoma City.
Add in the 3-point volume that the Thunder lost, and Holmgren may be expected to help replace some of those looks. Holmgren’s creation ability could be something to watch as the season progresses, but nailing the same catch-and-shoot looks that have been generated for him throughout his career will be a huge help for the Thunder.
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