Earlier this year, I asked Chet Holmgren about the difference between a good shot-blocker and an elite rim protector. He told me that, while there is certainly some crossover, the two aren't necessarily intertwined:
"Being a good rim protector and being a good defender is a combination of things that you have to have together. You can be a good rim protector and be a terrible defender. So it's kind of like a package of things that you have to plug together.... You could have zero blocks in a game and have one of your best rim protection nights of your career."
That last point — that a player can have zero blocks and still dominate the interior — almost perfectly describes the impact Holmgren is having right now. His raw block numbers are down from his first two seasons (he's averaging 1.9 this year) but his impact as a defensive anchor is as good as ever — and the world has noticed. On a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe praised Holmgren's all-encompassing defensive production:
"He is an apex predator rim protector who is long enough and agile enough that his defense does not end there... Chet roams around, he can switch, he's long, he gets in your head... They're plus-nine per 100 possessions when they play without Shai..."
Lowe also mentioned that teams are shooting 48% at the rim when defended by Chet, which is patently absurd; if you're wondering, a team making under half of their shots within just a few feet of the basket is shocking. That's the Chet impact — he completely shuts off the paint to opposing teams, so even if he's not swatting tons of shots every game, his presence is felt; you just have to dig into the stats a little more to find it (or simply watch the Thunder play).
Chet Holmgren's impact goes far beyond blocks
Chet deserves most of the acclaim for the Thunder's elite paint defense. But the non-big men should also be credited for making it so hard to enter the paint in the first place.
Once an opposing player gets to the paint, it feels like they've already been through a war. To then see Holmgren looming must be the most discouraging feeling in the world.
According to Chet himself, a player can block a lot of shots and not impact a team's defense all that much. On the flip side, a player can protect the paint at a high level and not be a huge shot-blocker. OKC is lucky to have a guy whose impact and numbers are both elite.