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Chet Holmgren and the OKC Thunder are at home to open their second-round series against the playoff-tested Dallas Mavericks. In a series that features a star-studded backcourt from both teams, Oklahoma’s lanky center is expected to have a two-way impact. Holmgren passed his playoff debut with flying colors versus the New Orleans Pelicans but many are interested in how he will fare moving forward.
For the second straight series, Holmgren will be lining up against a bruising frontline. He will go up against Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II. The former Gonzaga star showed in the first half of Game 1 that he was ready for the test.
Around the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, the Mavericks decided to go small. Gafford was in the middle but he was surrounded by small forwards Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. During one play, Chet Holmgren outsprinted Dallas’ center to support the speeding Cason Wallace. When Wallace missed the highly-contested layup, Holmgren made this happen:
After leaving Daniel Gafford in the dust, Holmgren had no one to worry about when the ball was near the rim. He just towered over Josh Green, Jones and Hardaway for the putback slam. When Gafford came into the scene, Holmgren was already running back to anchor Oklahoma’s defense.
Chet Holmgren is expected to have some trouble with bruising big men. Jonas Valanciunas made it tough for him and Daniel Gafford will also be a challenge. But, Holmgren’s mobility, speed and outside shooting will make him a problem the Dallas Mavericks will have to solve.
Chet Holmgren helps Thunder grab halftime lead versus Dallas in Game 1
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, unsurprisingly, gave the Dallas Mavericks the most trouble. The MVP candidate already had 19 points to go with five rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes of floor time. He was mainly responsible for Oklahoma’s 62-53 lead against Dallas as the teams exited for the halftime break.
Chet Holmgren did his share in pushing the Thunder to the front, stuffing the box scores with 11 points, three rebounds and three blocks. What isn’t found in the stat sheet were the shots he altered near or around the rim and the energy he played with. How the crowd erupted, following his follow-up dunk, to give the home team more boost couldn’t be quantified.
Daniel Gafford is keeping in step with 11 points of his own along with four rebounds and three blocks. Dallas’ big man is almost immovable once he is planted inside the paint. Holmgren has his work cut out for him. Oklahoma's emerging star will have to outplay his counterpart to fend off the Mavericks in the end.
