Now Holmgren Too

Chet Holmgren will miss 8-to-10 weeks with a small patellar tendon tear, the Thunder announced Saturday. He underwent a biological treatment for the knee and won't be back until sometime in January at the earliest. That's three rotation cornerstones gone in less than a week — Jalen Williams facing surgery and a possible season-ending ankle injury, Cason Wallace out indefinitely after shoulder surgery, and now Holmgren.

What's left at the center spot is Isaiah Hartenstein and rookie Aday Mara. At forward, Jaylin Williams is the nominal starter, though he's been well short of what a starting forward needs to provide at this level. Brooks Barnhizer is next on the depth chart. The Thunder did sign Ochai Agbaji to fill a roster spot after the Williams and Wallace news, but that move looks thinner now than it did two days ago.

Alex Caruso also left Monday's game against the Suns with a right ankle sprain, so even the secondary pieces are banged up. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still here and still the engine, but the supporting cast around him has been reduced to a collection of young players and reclamation projects in the span of one very bad week.

OKC will keep playing. They have no choice. But the gap between what this roster looked like in October and what it looks like right now is significant, and Holmgren's absence makes it wider.