Thunder’s Jalen Williams Limited in Return After Second Hamstring Strain
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Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams logged just 10 minutes in Thursday’s 118-91 defeat after missing three games with his second left hamstring strain of the postseason.
Coming off the bench for the first time since December 22, the 25-year-old All-NBA third-team honoree scored one point, committed two turnovers and posted a minus-18 while on the floor. Williams declined media requests following the loss, but head coach Mark Daigneault defended the decision to play him.
“He’s obviously not 100%,” Daigneault said. “He hasn’t completed a full return-to-play protocol like he would in the regular season, yet he wants to help in any way he can. I give him a lot of credit. He’s certainly not the reason we lost.”
Williams’ injury history has shadowed the Thunder all year. He sat out 26 of 28 games from January 19 through March 21 with right hamstring trouble, strained his left hamstring in Game 2 of the first-round series against Phoenix, returned for the Western Conference Finals opener, and aggravated the same muscle in Game 2 last Wednesday.
Despite his absence, Oklahoma City is 8-1 in playoff games he has missed. Seven of those victories came when Ajay Mitchell filled in as the starting forward; however, Mitchell has been sidelined the past three contests against San Antonio with a right soleus strain, during which the Thunder have lost by 21 and 27 points.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s Game 7, Daigneault said Williams’ role remains undecided. “There’s a lot of conversations to be had,” he noted. “We’ll huddle up, see how he feels and do everything we can to get him ready.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
