Holmes has been the best player on the team by a wide margin this year. Saying he shouldn't have his minutes reduced is anything but a hot take. Bagley is actually a good perimeter defender and could probably have done a very similar job on that last play against CP3 as Holmes did. But he got abused in the paint on defense on multiple occasions. It's why Holmes' defensive rating was 88 for the game and Bagley's was 99. He also had the second highest offensive rating for the game while Bagley had the 2nd lowest. Noel went up against Bagley for the majority of his minutes and scored the same amount of points as Bagley while taking 8 less shots.
Good post. There are situations and circumstances that numbers just can't account for though. It's Marvin's 1st game back for himself and for the team with him, so I'm not sure a full breakdown is really warranted at this point. As far as Marvin's shooting numbers, Marvin was wearing a brace to begin the game. When he tore it off after a timeout later in the game, his shooting got more consistent.
Also, comparing his shooting efficiency to Holmes and Noel is not an apple's to apple's comparison. Noel and Holmes are rim runner, cleanup guys. Marvin actually handles the ball and creates his own shot. Which style someone likes is a personal preference, not a defect in the player. As
@dude12 pointed out, Marvin's presence created a change in how OKC had to guard the floor. I love Holmes, but he doesn't impact that side of the floor in that way.
As far as defense, yes Holmes is a better defender overall. Marvin's issues are not physical or effort based. It's technique and experience. So the defense has already improved from last year and will continue to get better over time.