The defending champion Thunder will be playing without two of their primary offensive initiators when they face San Antonio on Saturday in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, tweets Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
Star wing Jalen Williams has been ruled out due to left hamstring strain injury management, while second-year guard Ajay Mitchell remains sidelined with a right soleus (calf) strain.
Williams returned to action on Thursday in the Game 6 loss to the Spurs, but was clearly hindered, which head coach Mark Daigneault admitted after the 25-year-old had one point, one assist and two turnovers and was minus-18 in 10 minutes. Williams aggravated a left hamstring strain in Game 2 vs. the Spurs and missed Games 3 through 5.
A member of the All-NBA Third Team in 2024/25, Williams initially strained his left hamstring in Game 2 of the first-round series vs. Phoenix, which Oklahoma City went on to win 4-0. He missed the entire second-round sweep of the Lakers as a result of the injury.
Mitchell was excellent against Los Angeles in the second round after an up-and-down first round against the Suns. The 2024 second-round pick had a relatively slow start to the Western finals against the Spurs, then strained his calf in Game 3.
The Thunder have gone 1-1 so far vs. San Antonio without both Williams and Mitchell, losing Game 4 on the road and winning Game 5 at home. Game 7 will be played in Oklahoma City.
Welp..there goes the series for okc folks!ðŸ˜
Vegas disagrees (OKC favored by 3.5 pts).
That said, i hope you’re right.
Brothers and Foster on for game 7 are they?
What could go wrong.
They haven’t officially announced it yet but I’ll be SUPER curious to see who the refs are for Game 7 LOL.
I doubt it is Brothers since he had Game 2 and 5. Zerba had Game 1 and 6.
That leaves Marc Davis (Game 3) and Foster (Game 4).
IMO Foster is a lock. But it could be Davis.
JW being out helps them. No offense to JW but like Fox he’s not himself and right now they are better when he’s out.
Shai beating Wemby without JDub will be legendary.
Thunder in 7.
Ugh – the only way that happens is if he gets the flop calls and shoots 15+ free throws.
Get out the hive mind. It will do you some good.
well either really incompetent refs where bad calls regularly favored okc or the refs are favoring them. your pick.
Really?
They were the no1 seed without JDub
Wemby is only 22
Spurs had their fair share of injuries
Not bad, but LEGENDARY? Overreaction
Okc should have closed this out 2 games ago.
No 1 seed but NBA is a league of tanking.
Jalen is their 2nd best player they lost Ajay the next ball handler.
Ok then why were they so far ahead from every other team in the regular season, even the non tanking ones?
This Spurs team has never been to the playoffs as well.
Okc should have won in 5…
You are half right. There is no legend called Goliath beats David. But do not underestimate the power of show lin…
I really hope okc loses. I thought Embiid was awful to watch with the flops but Shai and OKC take it to the next level
On the contrary, maybe having OKC win again and the flopping continue to be front and center during the finals will make the league squirm. Not that anything is likely to come of it, but a guy can dream.
Let’s hope for this. Is already bringing heavy criticism while being a hot topic.
It’s amazing how many people want to see the Spurs move onto the finals. Both here and talking with friends.
It’s not that they think the Spurs will win as much as they hope the Spurs will win.
I’d really like to see the “Jalen Brunson/SGA flop off. “
Who’s going to get all the calls and who’s going to have the advantage in flops and phantom fouls?
That’s big theater right there and I would look forward to it.
You do know that 90% SGA does get fouled? He’s the best there there is at making sure he gets the call.
Yes, there’s no doubt. SGA is the MVP of the league.
But the eye test becomes a little weary, slightly loathsome, and heavy SMH at times.
But don’t get me wrong…, it’s both guys. It’s also Brunson. And it’s Joel Embiid, and it’s Luka, and it’s a half dozen other guys.
@ Gary…guys falling over on a mid range with a guy half their size closing out and falling over without being touched is doing my head in.
People shouldn’t hate on the players for flopping anyway. I mean, yes, as a competitor myself I find it ugly, distasteful and bad for the sport. But the players are just maximizing their chances to win. And players and coaches in all sports having pushed up to and sometimes beyond the limits of the rules in order to gain a competitive advantage.
It’s on the league/refs/NBPA to address this issue and they flat-out refuse to. That’s where 95% of the blame should go.
I agree with you. NBA rules are sort of like taxes. You play by the rules, even though some don’t like them, and you use them to the advantage available because those are the rules. It’s just how it is.
Same with NBA foul rules.
BUT!!!! if someone did the following to me in pick up Ball, I’d probably have to fight them…
The offensive player fakes a jumpshot, so I lunge towards their area, but obviously plan to land beside them as a simple deterring of their open shot by using my hand to get in the way.
But as I approach my landing area BESIDE the shooter, he jumps sideways INTO ME instead of jumping forward towards the basket in a regular motion of trying to score.., I just think that’s horrendous and wrong.
It’s actually more than wrong. There’s nothing right about that !! At all.
It’s on the players too. That’s like going to a store to buy something and while you’re there you steal some things. The store security and workers see you but don’t call you out on it. It doesn’t make it right for you to shoplift.
Flopping hurts the integrity of the game. The players who are doing it the most are great players and don’t need to do it. I really hope the league does crack down on it but even if they don’t the players need to stop it.
Part of the problem is the NBA is more big business and less pure basketball. On the streets one may play for pride and for fun, but on the world’s biggest stage you’re playing for $$$, legacy, etc. And the home fans ultimately won’t care how you win, they just want you to win.
I think FOMO comes into play too, to the point where it becomes ingrained in a player. Let’s say you see a rival flopping and getting ahead of you. Putting up more points and getting more calls. Or you lose a game due to flopping. Maybe a playoff matchup. Now you start flopping too. And once you start, you probably ain’t gonna stop.
I’m really not trying to absolve the players as much as I’m resigned to the reality of flopping and the fact that the honor system doesn’t work. I could absolutely ascribe a greater % of blame to them. But ultimate responsibility rests with the league and time and time again we see the league extremely slow to react to pressing issues. Even understanding how money trumps all, the behavior disgusts me.
Of course, the players would have to agree to harsher flopping penalties and my gut tells me they would refuse to do so, letting the league take all the flak. So in that sense, it’s possible the non-floppers are part of the problem too—that is, if NBPA leadership wouldn’t prioritize the star players over possible dissenters.
Personally, I don’t think I could be a flopper myself. My integrity, at least when it comes to most things, is too important to me to justify sinking down to someone else’s level. Then again, I’m just an average joe with nothing at stake, and it’s always easier to talk under those circumstances (or a lack thereof).
Nah…
Competition is fine until it gets dirty and backhanded…
But in this world the aspiration carrot, even when rotten, is enough to make desperate people do desperate things…
No matter how ugly it looks…
100% disagree. Manipulating the refs and making the game unbearable to watch needs to go asap.
I can hate anything I want. Like Shaes game. This foul baiting and falling over crap is just ridiculous. Doesn’t need to do it to be effective.
I also hate Adam Silver for the game being the way it is. The NBA is so far removed from its peak and currently the rest of world’s style of play and officiating its ruining the game.
I would 100% rather watch euroleague at this point.
I agree with you. But he is still a faker. Nobody flops more than him. With three refs. You would think they would see it lol.?
Harden got fouled more, flopped less… and everyone hated him!?!?!
Definitely SGA has the best publicity agency ever!
I would like a camera on Silver when the Garden starts the “FLOPPER!!!” chants…
Just so there is a meme to help pile the pressure on the league to add levels to the AI calls to make flopping a thing of the past…
The league is trying to make sure it is legitimate as a sport, and not just sports entertainment… And flopping is not a legitimate play… It belongs in the WWE, not NBA…
SAS have been a better team over these 6 games. OKC were 3-3 last year against Denver and Indiana, but imo, looked stronger. But not this time.
Not winning without Williams unless Chet goes for 30 n 12. I really wanted Thunder. But I’ll take tge healthy team.
We all want Knicks Spurs finals, c’mon