Chet Holmgren’ unreal Game 2 start in Thunder win vs. Pelicans not seen in over a decade

Among the players on the Thunder roster, only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, and Gordon Hayward have playoff experience worth writing home about (Isaiah Joe has played in the playoffs, but all of those minutes came in garbage time). So for Holmgren to play like a composed veteran, against a physical matchup in Jonas Valanciunas, no less, is a sight to behold.

This is especially the case when, over the past 25 years, only five rookies have scored 20 or more points in the first half of a playoff game. Joining the burgeoning Thunder star and Brandon Jennings are Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Tony Parker, and Derrick Rose — all of whom have had long careers in the NBA, even though in the case of Rose, his prime was cut short by unfortunate injury problems.

Chet Holmgren got next

Due to the strong manner in which Victor Wembanyama ended the 2023-24 season, Chet Holmgren appears rather likely to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting. Holmgren went through a bit of a slump to end the year, which is understandable. He more than made up for it with his durability. Playing 82 games coming off a season-ending Lisfranc injury is no joke.

Holmgren, in the early goings of his playoff career, looks like a playoff riser as well. In Game 1, he may have shot 6-14 from the field, but his defense stood out in what was a grind-it-out close win over the Pelicans. He tallied five blocks and altered plenty of other shots, and it’s his two-way prowess, in his first season in the league, that gives him a high floor of impact.

On Wednesday, his hot shooting in the first half helped give the Thunder a lead they won’t relinquish. Holmgren scored 15 points in the first quarter as OKC went off to a 35-22 lead after the first 12 minutes of action, and spurred on by a raucous Paycom Center crowd, they only grew the lead from there.

Thunder on the high side

Many were justified in their fake one-seed allegations towards the Thunder in the aftermath of Game 1. For some, it was unacceptable that OKC won by just two points, necessitating heroics from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the clutch, against a Pelicans side that did not have Zion Williamson.

But in Game 2, the Thunder left nothing to chance. Their 13-point halftime lead went up to 18 at the end of the third, and then the floodgates opened in the final frame, as they took a 34-point lead at one point. Heading onto New Orleans, the Thunder are in control, and they now need just two wins to punch their ticket to the next round.