Thunder’s Success In Chet Holmgren’s Absence Proves Depth And Championship Upside

When Chet Holmgren went down with a significant hip injury in early November, there was real reason for concern in Oklahoma City. As good as the Thunder roster was, losing a top-three player on any team is a huge blow, especially given that Holmgren would be out multiple months and his impact on both ends for OKC was crucial.

But since the 7-footer went down with that injury, Oklahoma City has still found ways to win at an extremely high rate. In fact, the Thunder has gone 17-3 since that event, which is good for the best record in the NBA over that span.

The ability to have success in Holmgren’s absence has been driven by the tremendous play of Isaiah Hartenstein. Oklahoma City is 14-1 since he joined the rotation after coming back from an injury of his own. The Thunder struggled in the short span in which the team was without both of its top centers — going 3-2 in those five games — but has been dominant since Hartenstein took the floor for the first time.

Oklahoma City is having its best start to any season in its history at 25-5 thus far. But with one of Holmgren or Hartenstein on the floor, the Thunder has been even better at 22-2. We have yet to see both of these players on the court at the same time in the regular season, but it’s safe to assume this team will play at an entirely new level when that happens.

But when is Holmgren expected to make his return?

That’s still a bit unclear. When the Thunder last provided an injury update, the guidance was that there would be information on Holmgren’s return-to-play protocol in eight to ten weeks, which would mean sometime in mid to late January. That doesn’t mean the 7-footer will return to play in that window, but rather, there would be more clarity on providing a timeline for that return.

Given Holmgren has been using crutches even in the past few weeks, it’s safe to assume his return won’t be until closer to the NBA All-Star break in February. Between now and then, Oklahoma City will also be looking to potentially improve the roster on the trade market with the deadline quickly approaching.

In the meantime, the Thunder will look to continue having success without Holmgren and provide further opportunities for others to develop. Oklahoma City is currently facing its toughest part of the schedule this season, with 10 of its next 11 games against projected postseason teams over the next few weeks. If the Thunder can simply put together a winning record over this stretch, the top seed in the Western Conference would almost certainly be maintained, given the cushion OKC has over the teams below. From there, the schedule will ease up a bit and Holmgren will be even closer to his return.

Regardless of what happens between now and Holmgren getting back on the court in game action, the first seven weeks without him have been extremely impressive.