Like Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren had a contrasting first steps in the NBA. However, he was waiting for him this opening night, on the Bulls floor, after a blank season. The excitement of playing again? Of course, but also A little » anxiety.
His first feat after a few minutes of play, a beautiful baseline movement to easily get rid of Nikola Vucevic before punishing from five meters to officially unlock his counter. However, on the next possession, the Montenegrin took revenge by dunking on him with both hands.
If he finished the match without any counterattack, the Thunder giant at least had the merit of coming into contact with the Bulls pivot on this action. A good sign for his coach Mark Daigneault : “ He’ll get dunked ten times in a row, if that’s what the game demands. In reality, he’s not going to get dunked ten times in a row now, he’s going to counter two. That’s the mindset he takes, and his vulnerability is something I really admire. He really threw himself into the competition, with the risk of failing. »
A quarter later, the second choice of the 2022 Draft, experienced a new difficult sequence against another pivot opposite. He first had the ball stolen by Andre Drummond who, gone “coast-to-coast”signed a “crossover”, which did not seem so violent, before finishing in the circle with the left hand while Chet Holmgren ended up on the ground.
Happy to wake up to play
These two facts of the game obviously do not sum up a nice evening overall for him. The interior was offensively sober by scoring 11 points on 4/7 shots, including 2/3 from distance (and 1/3 on throws), accompanied by 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes. With a +/- of +14, when in play, very favorable.
“ There are a lot of good things and a lot of things he can improve on. He’s a competitor, a student of the game too. A drug. So I have no doubt that he will learn from it. We just have to start this process with him. We are clearly only at the beginning of his career », recalls his coach.
Able to convert from afar, but also to finish strong by getting closer to the circle, Chet Holmgren is already very happy to be back on the floor. “ 100%. Every day that I can wake up and play basketball for a living is a great day for me. I am very grateful, but I also understand that there is a lot of work to be done “, concedes the 21-year-old player.
Work and patience to find your place within this young team which already has the collective experience of last season on its side. “ It’s important, in a situation like ours, to take a step back because it was your first match among many others. He’s a young player, he’s going to have a long career, we’re going to have a long journey with this group of players of which he is a part. And that’s just a starting point », recalls Mark Daigneault to finish.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
