The Oklahoma City Thunder have been decimated by injuries to start off their 2024-25 campaign. So, it’s isn’t surprising to see Chet Holmgren be ‘traumatized’ by what could’ve been another injury to the squad. Isaiah Hartenstein was on the brunt end of this unfortunate incident during OKC’s game against the Lakers.
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Towards the waning minutes of the 1st quarter, I-Hart took to the skies to block what would’ve been a filthy poster dunk by Dalton Knecht. While he did register the monster denial, he did so by putting his body on the line, landing straight on his back.
Chet, who ironically is also sidelined due to injury, immediately took to his ‘X’ account. His reaction was simple but showcased just how worried he was. The picture he posted is a meme that is used quite often to display trauma, worry, or shock. All 3 of these emotions are worthy of what transpired with Hartenstein.
https://t.co/GKKTbMyn2z pic.twitter.com/DO4BZrrOW3
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) November 30, 2024
After going to the locker room, he would eventually return to the bench. Luckily for the Thunder, not only did he return to the bench but he returned to the game. A defining moment for him to establish that he’s fully back was during his putback dunk from a Thunder player’s miss.
This was called “offensive goal tending”
Just embarrassing for the NBA officials pic.twitter.com/To3FE86zyx
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) November 30, 2024
Unfortunately for him, this dunk wasn’t counted in the box score. Refs cited this as offensive goaltending and basket interference. However, on closer examination, it’s clear that the ball was nowhere close to be in line with the cylinder and it should have counted.
The ramifications of this basket counting are miniscule. The message that this move sent is more important as it showed off I-Hart’s health. His fall was especially worrisome given that he was sidelined for an extended period of time due to a ‘small, non-displaced’ fracture in his hand that he suffered in an Oct 15th preseason game.
The Thunder have had to deal with an onslaught of injuries to major players in their frontcourt. Chet, in the midst of a DPOY level season, fractured his hip. Jaylen Williams has been sidelined for quite some time due to hamstring stress and will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks.
So, with Hartenstein firmly in the lineup, Shai and crew have at least one serviceable big man to help out their offense and defense.
