The Oklahoma City Thunder has made its own Kristapsporzingis, but they need to develop and utilize him the right way.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has been phenomenal this season. With a league-leading 66-14 record, the Thunder established themselves as a team that will win the playoffs.
Thunder has built an incredible roster led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This roster shows that they can beat the best of any night.
Although his final match against the Lakers was a subject of controversy, Mike Deanoo stood by the judge and Thunder’s performance.
But the playoffs are a completely different story. Kendrick Perkins believes one of Thunder’s current stars needs to step up and be unleashed in the postseason.
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Speaking on The Road Trippin Podcast, Kendrick Perkins gave the name to the player he wanted to see him unleash. He named him Chetholmglen from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Perkins pointed out that he had no faith in Jalen Williams during the playoffs. Rather, it must be Chet Holmgren, who has a frying pan, he must step on postseason lightning.
“It has to be Chet Holmgren. I don’t believe in such Jalen Williams. It’s not yet. I don’t think he’s the guy who can make you 30, 35, but I think Chet can get you 25, 27 and 14.”
“And when I think about the second option, playing these next four games, I stress.
“If it’s a pick and rolling, pick and pop, let’s try to force a mismatch. Let’s force him to a low block. Something along the line of what Boston does with Kristaps Porzingis.”
“We talk about him shooting threes, but last year, Christaps Porzingis was the best post-up player in the league ahead of Jokic, Embiid, Advertis and Giannis.
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Chet Holmgren was the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Since then, it appears that draft class players like Paolo Banchelo and Walker Kessler have outperformed him in terms of his performance.
Holmgren suffered injuries for a year of his career. And the technically his sophomore has done well, averaging 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Skip Bayless believes Holmglen has been even better this season. But not everyone believes in the big Thunder man. Channing Fry believes Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein can’t stop players like Nikola Jokic.
But given his size and skill set, he should be better. Is he as good as Christapus Porzingis? That’s possible, but you need to remember how long it took Porzingis to be a reliable championship-level player.
But much of Thunder’s hope relies on Holmgren. And if he can’t play at the level he needs, the Thunder will suffer in the playoffs.