Jalen Williams ‘Obviously Not 100%’ In Return

Returning on Thursday from a three-game absence following his second left hamstring strain of the postseason, Thunder forward Jalen Williams showed clear rust during the team’s 118-91 loss, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Coming off the bench for the first time since December 22, Williams scored a single point in his 10 minutes of action. He also committed a pair of turnovers and Oklahoma City was outscored by 18 points during his time on the floor. The 25-year-old, who made the All-NBA third team a year ago, didn’t speak to the media after the game, MacMahon notes, but head coach Mark Daigneault came to his defense.

“He’s obviously not 100%,” Daigneault said. “He didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to expect. So it was a matter of getting him out there in kind of an insulated role and see what he can bring to the team.

“He’s an All-Star player, he’s an All-NBA player. He hasn’t done a full return to play (protocol) like he would if this was the regular season, and yet he just wants to do whatever he can to try to contribute whatever he can to the team. I give him a lot of credit to get himself out there. He did the best he could. He’s certainly not the reason we lost.”

Williams missed 26 of 28 games from January 19 to March 21 due to right hamstring issues, then strained his left hamstring in Game 2 of the Thunder’s first-round series vs. Phoenix. He returned to action for the start of the Western Conference finals following an absence of nearly four weeks, but re-injured the left hamstring in Game 2 last Wednesday, forcing him to the sidelines again.

Oklahoma City has posted an 8-1 record during the playoffs when Williams has been inactive. However, seven of those wins came in games that Ajay Mitchell played. Mitchell, who has been the Thunder’s go-to starter when Williams is out, has been sidelined for the past three games vs. San Antonio due to a right soleus (calf) strain. OKC has 21-point and 27-points losses during that stretch.

Speaking to reporters, including MacMahon, after Thursday’s loss, Daigneault admitted he’s not sure what Williams’ role will look like in Game 7 on Saturday.

“There’s a lot of conversations to be had,” Daigneault said. “I don’t have any information about how he came out of the game. Relative to the situation, I thought he looked pretty good, but we’ll see how he feels. We’ll huddle back up and do everything we can to get him ready and then take it from there.”