All-Star wing Jalen Williams (hamstring) is set to return to the Oklahoma City Thunder lineup for Monday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Williams missed the Thunder’s last six playoff games after sustaining a left hamstring strain in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. Although his injury was deemed grade 1, the Thunder — the only undefeated team in the NBA playoffs — had no reason to rush back their second-best player, given the splendid performances of Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain. Furthermore, J-Dub missed a chunk of the second half of the regular season with a hamstring strain in his other leg, making him very vulnerable to sustaining more soft tissue injuries in the middle of a playoff run.
The 25-year-old also missed the first 19 games of the season while recovering from offseason wrist surgery and later dealt with two extended absences due to a right hamstring strain. The otherwise durable Williams appeared in a career-low 33 games after playing at least 69 games in each of his first three seasons.
What Happens to Ajay Mitchell?
It’s unknown whether Jalen Williams will return to the starting lineup over Ajay Mitchell—who was arguably OKC’s best player in the second-round win against the Lakers—or come off the bench in his first game back in nearly a month.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault hinted Friday that Mitchell will likely return to a bench role but be featured in lineups alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams.
“I think it’s what you see with Ajay, generally, when he’s out there with Shai,” Daigneault said of Mitchell’s role, via The Oklahoman’s Justin Martinez.
“I think it’s what you’ve seen in the past with Shai and Dub (Williams) being out there together. Just having two guys who are a threat to create and are always in attack mode is really helpful. And then obviously, Shai is going to get doubled at times.
“And when the ball can come out to a guy who’s that much of a threat, it impacts the next closeout, which puts the next pass at a huge advantage.”
Jalen Williams Injury Update
Meanwhile, J-Dub sounded like he’s ready for playoff basketball on Friday night when he said he’s “healthy” heading into the Thunder vs Spurs series.
“I haven’t had to rush back from my hamstring stuff at all,” Williams said.
“I’m actually taking extra days now then what was even originally planned because we were up 3-0 (on the Lakers), so there was no point in going into this series and possibly hurting myself before we have to play the Timberwolves or the Spurs. I’m about to go into another series healthy.”
Thunder enter Game 1 vs the Spurs as 6.5-point favorites, a surprising development given that Victor Wembanyama and Co. beat the reigning NBA champions in four of their five regular-season meetings by an average margin of 11.8 points. The series will pit two 62-win teams in a playoff series for the first time since the 1998 NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, making it a heavyweight clash for the ages.
Is Jalen Williams Playing in Tonight’s Thunder vs Spurs Game 1?