The Oklahoma City Thunder hope they don’t have to play without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander much more this season.
However, there are lessons that can be learned from Oklahoma City playing without its biggest star, especially for third-year guard/forward Jalen Williams.
Williams and the Thunder hope to have Gilgeous-Alexander back in the lineup when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday evening.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season Friday, sitting out Oklahoma City’s 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks due to a sprained right wrist.
Without not only Gilgeous-Alexander but also Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, who will both be out on Sunday, Williams saw defensive looks that he hadn’t seen all season. He finished with 19 points but made just 7 of 22 shots from the field.
“Not trying to do too much but still play within the team,” Williams said. “Just took it as a learning opportunity. Not everybody in the NBA gets doubled and blitzed. Definitely is a good thing.”
Williams is averaging 20.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season, all career highs.
Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as questionable for the meeting with Brooklyn.
“We’ve just got to play our game and really move the ball and read the defense,” Thunder guard/forward Luguentz Dort said of the challenge of playing without Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City leads the NBA in defensive rating (103.9), while Brooklyn owns the fifth-worst offensive rating in the league (109.5). The Nets’ struggles on that side of the ball were evident on Wednesday, when Brooklyn ended up on the wrong end of a 126-67 blowout while facing the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Nets were back in action two nights later and fought hard before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-101. Brooklyn has dropped 18 of its past 23 games.
Cameron Johnson’s absence has hampered the Nets, but the forward — who is dealing with a right ankle sprain — is nearing a return and is questionable for Sunday. Johnson has missed seven of the past eight games.
“He’s doing a great job with trying to get healthy and working every day and being around with the group,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said of Johnson. “That’s what we value the most is his energy, his voice right now.”
Brooklyn is 0-9 this season without Johnson.
With Johnson on the shelf, Tosan Evbuomwan has seen his role grow since signing a two-way deal with the Nets on Jan. 1.
Evbuomwan came off the bench to play 27 minutes against the Lakers. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also hauled in six boards. Six Nets scored in double figures in the loss.
“It’s massive for confidence,” Evbuomwan said. “It’s really trust coming to a new situation and it’s nice to have that right away. Obviously something you have to earn. These guys give me confidence — the coaching staff, the players — every time I step on the floor. Shout out to all of them.
“I’ve loved being here.”
