Mark Daigneault Explains Plan For OKC Thunder's Chet Holmgren

The Oklahoma City Thunder get Chet Holmgren back in the fold on Friday against the Toronto Raptors. The OKC Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault was peppered with questions about Holmgren and his upcoming minute-load for his return.

Nov 4, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) sits on the floor after a play against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder turned this Friday night contest against the Portland Trail Blazers into must-see TV. The OKC Thunder announced rising star big man Chet Holmgren would be returning to the fold after suffering a hip fracture back on Nov. 10.

There are plenty of storylines to watch for as Holmgren returns to Oklahoma City. However, chief among them is what his return to the hardwood physically looks like.

Holmgren is fresh off a major injury does that come with a minutes restriction? What about a plan for managing his work-load on back-to-back sets which the Oklahoma City Thunder face as they take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in the FedEx forum. These are the questions Mark Daigneault was peppered with prior to tip-off against the Toronto Raptors inside the Paycom Center on Friday.

"We have plans, they're not rigid," Daigneault said when asked about minute restrictions. "Some of this is watching how he responds, how he feels — we don't go into things unplanned, but because it's not rigid I'm not going to share anything with you guys."

“We know what we’re getting with him," Daigneault said of the luxury of adding Holmgren to an already-talented squad. "We’re certainly happy to have him back. The team has proven to be very adaptive and able to pivot in a lot of situations. That flexibility is very important — this team’s made a habit of that and show it this season.”

This season, Holmgren has played in 10 games to the tune of 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.4 stocks per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 37 percent from beyond the arc and 77 percent at the charity stripe.

If you take out the five-minute sample against the Warriors, these numbers improve to 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.5 stocks per game on 52/40/77 shooting splits to show his All-Star, All-NBA potential before the hip injury.

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