On one side, the rookie as thick as a twig, on the other the Lithuanian veteran with the look of a lumberjack. Between Chet Holmgren And Jonas Valanciunas, we could hardly make a bigger difference in the pivot duel between the Thunder and the Pelicans. Physically as much as in the game, the two players have little in common with each other. For Chet Holmgren, the baptism of the playoffs comes the hard way. And he does more than respond.
If Jonas Valanciunas had generally taken the best, notably on the rebound during Game 1 (20 holds to 11 for the Baltic), his young counterpart from Oklahoma City raised the tone during the second meeting Wednesday evening, largely won by OKC.
The “big man” of the Pelicans had nevertheless started on a big basis, using his power to take the position, then his touch near the circle, scoring New Orleans' first 11 points. But Chet Holmgren was able to respond to the physical challenge throughout the match, gaining the upper hand over his opponent, despite his weight deficit.
Only six points conceded low post
“ I think he did a very good job of holding up » welcomed Mark Daigneault, the Oklahoma City coach. “ Some of Valanciunas' baskets early in the game were when Holmgren was off to assist, and it was a matter of defensive rotations. Others were on offensive rebounds, so they weren't real game situations in the low post. There are some other elements that Valanciunas brought to the match over this period that could have been limited, but Chet was good on him tonight. »
Of the Lithuanian's 19 points, only six came following a duel between the two men. The second choice in the 2022 Draft notably responded with 15 points in the first quarter alone, a career record and a franchise record for a rookie. Then Jonas Valanciunas lost his luster, scoring only eight points in his next 20 minutes on the floor. “ Obviously, we don't want him to think it's easy »reacted Chet Holmgren. “ He's a good player. I'm not going to stop him from touching the ball a lot. I just have to make it as difficult as possible. »
Mission accomplished. Because not content with having hampered him in defense, Chet Holmgren was very good in attack with 26 points at 9/13 (including 3/6 at 3-points), and 7 rebounds, to go with his 2 blocks. The interior even offered one of the strong actions of the evening on a penetration, pushing Brandon Ingram before dunking.
