By Matt Ravis | follow Matt on Twitter @MattRavis
Chet Holmgren, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, is in danger of missing a significant portion of his rookie season due to torn ligaments in his foot.
Of course, losing a vaunted second overall pick before the season starts is not ideal. Even less so when it comes in an exhibition setting like the one Holmgren was running in.
It will be tough, but I have some advice for Thunder fans: don’t freak out. It’s needless.
Naturally, people will point to Chet’s slight frame, confirming what they “knew” all along: that Holmgren is a significant injury waiting to happen. They knew as soon as he faced NBA players that he’d crumble into dust.
Never mind that the contact between them was marginal, that a half-speed LeBron did not cause Holmgren to disintegrate.
Never mind that the game was shut down in the 2nd quarter due to condensation on the floor to help protect other players from injury. (Seriously, who allowed this game to start?)
Nope. He’s injury prone, already a bust, a terrible pick. That’s what they will say, at least. I’ve already seen it all over Twitter and Reddit.
Those people could end up being right, but they have little evidence to support that conclusion other than vague statements about being “too skinny,” as if Chet would be the same player if he were 300 pounds.
There’s no denying that Holmgren is skinny and could benefit from added weight and strength. But this kind of injury is not exclusive to skinny players. It could have happened if he was 50 pounds heavier. It looked to be purely incidental.
His foot is not proof positive of anything, other than the fact that injury can strike any player at any time.
Maybe there is a laundry list of injuries and missed games awaiting Chet. It would be an obvious shame. But he has avoided serious injury up until this point.
I would be much more concerned if he’d had multiple past knee surgeries, or suffered from the worst injury a 7-footer could endure: a stress fracture. But none of that has happened. Just the misfortune of suffering an injury that I would consider incidental, freak.
We don’t know the full extent of his damage, but similar injuries have seen players make full returns to form.
Holmgren may miss the season. But this does not necessarily mean anything as far as his future health. So, Thunder fans: take a deep breath. This isn’t your first adversity rodeo. And this does not necessarily spell out anything for Chet Holmgren other than bad luck.
Matt Ravis, producer of The Middle of the Day Show w/ Mark Rodgers (12p-2p) and The Afternoon Sports Beat w/ Jim Traber (2p-4p), hosts Ravis Island Saturdays from 1p-3p on WWLS The Sports Animal.