"His back is gonna hurt" - NBA fans react to Chet Holmgren's gardening endeavors days before start of second round

Chet Holmgren and the OKC Thunder patiently waited for the series between the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets to end. Nikola Jokic and Co. drubbed James Harden and his teammates 120-101 in Game 7 on Saturday to earn the right to face the Thunder in the second round. After over a week of wondering who their opponents will be, OKC will finally host the Nuggets in Game 1 on Monday.

During the Thunder’s idle stretch, a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that somebody saw Holmgren doing gardening to keep himself busy.

Fans promptly reacted to the news:

“Ugh, just know his back is gonna hurt game 1”

One fan said:

“He's just like me fr”

Another fan added:

“jokic going from Zubac to Chet Holmgren gonna feel like taking the weight off your baseball bat lmao first post up backdown he's gonna go flying into the stanchion”

@aj_simmons02 commented:

“X Factor this series”

@okcamars continued:

“you will regret playing with the name of Chet Holmgren. you will be handled with”

Whether there was gardening involved or not, Chet Holmgren must be raring to play again. Holmgren saw action just 32 times in the regular season after suffering a right iliac wing fracture in early November. Since his return in February, he has been a staple on the roster.

After sending the Memphis Grizzlies to an early vacation, Holmgren and his teammates must be straining at the leash to see action again.

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Chet Holmgren struggled in his last game against the Denver Nuggets

The OKC Thunder lost 14 times this season, the best in the NBA. Two of those losses came at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. In the final meeting between the two teams in the regular season, the Thunder lost at home, 140-127.

Chet Holmgren’s poor outing was a key reason the Nuggets were able to tie the season series with a road win. The 7-foot-1 forward finished the game with eight points, four rebounds, two blocks and one assist in 29 minutes. Holmgren shot 3-for-11, including 0-for-5 from behind the arc.

Holmgren seems to have shaken off that stuttering performance. In the series against the Memphis Grizzlies, he averaged 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and led the playoffs with 2.8 blocks per game. Oklahoma will be tough to beat if Holmgren sustains his 42.3% shooting from deep and maintains his invaluable rim protection and interior defense.