Although Chet Holmgren entered his rookie season under a microscope and with high expectations, he answered that pressure and responded with a flawless debut season despite returning from injury and being placed on a team with recurring woes. He was the one who took the blame when the recurring disadvantages became significant and affected the team’s success.

So the Thunder went and picked up Isaiah Hartenstein this offseason to alleviate some of that burden and more, leaving Holmgren and duo to take off some of that pressure. But Hartenstein’s broken left hand in preseason has essentially returned the roster to where the team was a year ago in terms of how many bigs they possess to score down low — the number is back to one, and it’s Holmgren.

The season opener against the Nuggets will be telling to see the power Holmgren can bring as a rebounder, but also to figure out angles and just know where to be and where not to be.

In four games against the Nuggets a year ago, Holmgren’s 19.5 points, 8.5 boards and 3.8 blocks while shooting 56.9% from the field told a story. This rookie was going to be a force in the future, and now in his second season, he will be hungry and ready to mentally match Jokic’s MVP level. He may not get on the stat sheet or in the physical fray, but mentally you can be sure his confidence is there heading into his second season in the league.

Below Hartenstein, Holmgren will have to hold down the fort and defeat a duo of Jokic and Aaron Gordon, a tough task on the first night of Oklahoma City’s season.