Chet Holmgren is tired, but OKC Thunder rookie is chasing perfection: 'It’s human nature'

He looked exhausted. Reluctant, weary. Victim to Minnesota’s defensive prowess. Victim to his first NBA season, a 82-game trek in which he still hasn’t missed a game. Perhaps even victim to his own mind.

Chet Holmgren’s desire — no, need — to be great has, at times, leaked into his shot selection. It was apparent Monday. The pump fakes, attacking imaginary closeouts on an island. Desperately seeking the best shot possible, almost to a fault. That craving and its effects swelled as a historically hefty January schedule piled on.

None of that mattered when the ball found him late in the Thunder’s 105-100 Wednesday win over the Nuggets.

Up one with roughly 25 seconds to play, Holmgren squared toward the ball as it sped toward him. Weary of a cutting Aaron Wiggins, Holmgren’s nearest defender sunk further. The 7-foot-1 center was left all alone.

The moment was his. An island, a window, and as good of an opportunity as he’d seen all month. Any doubt, any hesitancy — gone.

“I was just open, so I was like, ‘We’re not gonna get a better shot than this,’” Holmgren said.

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Holmgren’s decisiveness just made sense as Wednesday’s punctuation mark. He’d decided to bail the Thunder out eight minutes earlier when a moving, shot-clock beating Lu Dort heave threatened to plug OKC’s run. Holmgren swooped in from the empty corner to throw down an elastic putback dunk.

He decided to make the opposing rim a ring of fire. Hazardous to the touch, dangerous to even glance at. Along with his 18 points and 13 rebounds, Holmgren pitched in five blocks.

Both Denver and OKC hovered near or below 40% from the field for much of the game. The Nuggets finished the game shooting better from deep (40.5%) than they did the field (39.8%). OKC was mediocre around the rim, mostly a product of good defensive possessions from Denver. The Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets were intolerable around the rim, shooting just 37.8% on paint attempts, mostly because of Holmgren.

Coach Mark Daigneault has noted Holmgren working through early imperfections. But he’s never noted the need to nudge Holmgren. Monday’s game hardly sparked any specific conversation.

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“When you coach Chet Holmgren, you’re in constant conversation the entire time,” Daigneault said. “… I wouldn’t have it any other way. He wants to figure it out. He wants to solve the puzzle yesterday.”

In enduring this month, Holmgren recognized the things he’d hoped to fix as they passed. Decision making, the natural tug-of-war that comes with passing on or shooting shots.

He cited a lack of time between road trips and back-to-backs as things that have kept him from focusing on ironing those wrinkles. Film was as far as he could reach.

But on Tuesday, he got that chance. On Wednesday, he played free.

“It’s human nature, as a perfectionist, you always want to make the play,” Holmgren said. “Sometimes you're so focused on trying to make every single shot that you start thinking too much about the one single shot. Guys take thousands of shots every season. Nobody makes all of them. I’ve just gotta understand that.”

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Hello, Vasilije 

Vasilije Micic hasn’t exactly been the center of attention. He’s eased into his role as a second unit playmaker, taking on his largest load in January. So, after a career-game for the 30-year-old rookie, Micic needed to break the ice before his rare postgame appearance.

“First of all, hello everyone,” he said.

Then he talked. About the team, about Wednesday’s effort, about his fit so far. When it mattered, Micic was at the center of everything in the win.

Down Jalen Williams, who has shouldered second units with his increased on-ball creation and facilitating, Micic was up. Brock Purdy would be a fan. Micic was the ultimate game managing floor general.

“My enthusiasm is like a young player,” Micic said. “That's what I try to bring every day."

He turned corners with verve he hadn’t shown off all year. He got to the rim with finesse. He broke zones, he ran actions that left Denver’s defense puzzled and turned every which way.

Micic finished with 12 points and five assists as a team-high plus-14. Running the offense smoothly without the team’s second scoring option and an infinitely creative creator was a task itself. But managing the group that started the fourth quarter? That was an entirely different beast.

“Every single day, as a professional, you have to be ready,” he said. “You gotta work on small details. Physically, mentally. So, once you get the opportunity, you do what’s best for the team.”

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Effort on a day least expected

Daigneault entered Wednesday without expectations. Despite being down two of his top seven rotational players, despite a week in which he suffered tough losses to Detroit and Minnesota, despite Denver conveniently capping off one of the most grueling single-month schedules in recent memory.

The 38-year-old coach said that, after all the team has done this season, he gives it the benefit of the doubt in terms of effort. He entered the game with the same train of thought as when he saw Hamilton this past summer.

“I wasn’t worried that it was bad,” Daigneault said, “but I was impressed that it was good.”

Somehow, on a night that was meant to invite everything but effort, the Thunder delivered. With Holmgren’s putbacks and relentless rim protection. With rookie Cason Wallace’s passes out of traps and loose ball navigation. Even after a rough 2-for-11 shooting night, Josh Giddey rebounded his own miss — the play that became Holmgren’s dagger.

OKC’s 15 offensive rebounds were tied for the second-most in any game this season. Gilgeous-Alexander fought his way to the free-throw line for 12 of his eventual 34 points. Guards blocked shots, the defense tightened late.

That’s all Daigneault and the Thunder could ask for.

Take it from the team’s old man.

“Having that energy is the least we can offer as a mainly young team,” Micic said.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Chet Holmgren, OKC Thunder rally past Nikola Jokic-less Denver Nuggets