The undermanned Oklahoma City Thunder have every excuse in the book to make right now. What was viewed as arguably the deepest roster in the league has been derailed by injuries. One by one, injuries have decimated Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, and Alex Caruso (which both just recently returned), and now Isaiah Joe.
The Thunder have been forced to play small ball with Jalen Williams serving as their starting center. He’s done quite the job. The Thunder are 4-3 since Holmgren suffered a hip fracture. Specifically, their loss to the Dallas Mavericks exposed the flaws and how limiting that style of basketball is.
Fortunate news is that Isaiah Hartenstein made his Thunder debut on Wednesday against Portland. Hartenstein immediately made an impact: his stability, rebounding, interior presence, screening, and passing will be a major boost for the Thunder until Holmgren’s eventual return later this season.
Jalen Williams Is One of the Most Versatile Players in the League
Jalen Williams Versatility
Serving as the de facto starting center. Williams has seamlessly transitioned from a wing to a big. He’s anchored one of the league’s best defenses despite a clear lack of size and rebounding disadvantage. The Thunder has the second-best net rating in the league despite being depleted by injuries.
Williams has faced off against the likes of Ivica Zubac, Jusuf Nurkic, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, Donovan Clingan, and Robert Williams.
In the seven games since Holmgren suffered a hip fracture, Williams is averaging 25.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks, on 55/37/100 shooting splits as the starting center.
High Praise from Mark Daigneault
Head coach Mark Daigneault had high praise as he talked about Williams as the starting center.
“Can shoot off the catch, can shoot off the dribble, can play in the mid-range, can get to the rim, can create for his teammates, can cut, can run, can defend one, defend two, defend three, defend four, defend five, blocks out,” Daigneault said. “The list of things that guy does — and it doesn’t matter what position you put him at — all this is doing is highlighting those things and just showing that you can stress him about as far as you can possibly stress him.”
“He’s taking the jump in guarding Zubac, Nurkic in the same week. Lively and Gafford. The guy is almost better the more circumstances you put him in,” Daigneault said. “I just don’t know how many players there are — there’s some — how many players that check that many boxes and then do those things with the effectiveness that he does them.”
Answering the Question Marks
The question surrounding Williams coming into the season: Could he become a true No. 2 option on a championship-caliber team?
After a strong sophomore season, in which he averaged — 19.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 4 rebounds on 54/42/81 shooting splits as the No. 2 option. However, this past playoffs highlighted his deficiencies.
With his reliance as the secondary creator and offensive engine in the secondary units, his progression as an overall creator will be pivotal for the Thunder’s success.
After having a slow start to the season, Williams has begun to elevate his play over the last couple of weeks. Williams is currently averaging 21.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.2 steals, and one block per game on 51/39/81 shooting splits.
Receiving more responsibility and getting those reps will be beneficial for his development and progression as the secondary creator. The playoffs will be the real indicator of whether or not Williams answers the question of whether he can be the number two option on a championship-caliber team.
If the Thunder end up with the first seed despite Holmgren’s and Hartenstein’s absence for six games, this no-center stretch will be important to look back on. The Thunder could’ve easily given in with the amount of players out. But Williams has certainly done enough to earn wins.
The Williams at center minutes have been a temporary bandaid over a wound in such a dire situation. The bright spot is how Williams is fully displaying how good and versatile of a player he is in such circumstances.
Main Image: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
