The Oklahoma City Thunder improved to 3-0 with a 108-101 win over the LA Clippers on Sunday. Unfortunately, nobody at Paycom Center was in the mood to celebrate. With just over a minute left, Jalen Williams went up for a dunk, got bumped in midair by Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. and landed with his left leg trapped underneath him. He was stretchered off with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle, and Sam Presti confirmed on Monday that he’ll need surgery.
That wasn’t even the only bad news. Cason Wallace tore the labrum in his left shoulder minutes into the same game, and he’s headed for surgery, too.
“Tough night last night,” Presti told reporters, per CBS Sports. “There’s no way to paint that differently.”
Jalen Williams can’t catch a break
This is a damn shame for a guy who’s already been through a lot. Williams played just 33 games last season because of wrist and hamstring injuries, averaging 17.1 points and 5.5 assists per game, and he only appeared in five of OKC’s playoff games.
He was finally healthy to start this season, averaging 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a steal through three games. No timeline has been set yet, but ESPN reported the injury could end his season, and the comparisons to Gordon Hayward’s 2017 ankle injury in Boston are already making the rounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still believes in him, though. “I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back and be better than he was before,” the two-time reigning MVP said, per Yahoo Sports. “He’s a warrior.”
Losing Cason Wallace might hurt even more
As crazy as it sounds, the Wallace injury might be the harder one to absorb. He made the All-Defense Second Team last season, became a full-time starter and was a big reason OKC felt comfortable trading Lu Dort this summer, and the Thunder just handed him a five-year, $139 million extension earlier this month.
Presti called Wallace “a total warrior” who “probably would’ve gone back in the game if we let him.” According to Heavy, Presti indicated a five-to-six-month recovery, which would put Wallace’s return around April, right before the playoffs. That’s a real problem for a team that already gave up a lot of toughness. OKC moved Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins this summer to stay under the second apron, and now two more of its best perimeter defenders are on the shelf.
The Thunder have survived this before
I’ve got to say, though, nobody is better built to handle this than OKC. The Thunder won 64 games last season with Williams in and out of the lineup, and they still have Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and one of the deepest benches in the league. They proved it again on Monday with a 125-114 win over the Phoenix Suns to improve to 4-0. Ajay Mitchell started in Williams’ place and dropped a career-high 30 points, Jared McCain stepped in for Wallace with 18 and Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 on 11 of 18 from the field.
Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and rookie Aday Mara put up the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Thunder’s injury list keeps getting longer
The bad news didn’t stop on Sunday, either. Alex Caruso, who was the most likely candidate to replace Wallace in the starting lineup, rolled his right ankle on Dillon Brooks’ legs late in the first half against Phoenix and didn’t return. The team called it a right ankle sprain, but there’s no timeline yet. That’s a tough break for a guy who was shooting 45.5% from three and had already hit three triples in nine minutes on Monday.
Chet Holmgren also sat out the Suns game with right patellar tendinitis on the second night of a back-to-back. He already missed the preseason with a bruised quad, so it’s worth keeping an eye on whether the Thunder start managing his minutes. That leaves Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell and McCain to handle most of the ball for now. Kenrich Williams started and played 24 minutes on Monday after barely playing in the first three games, while rookie Bennett Stirtz played 25 minutes.
The title race is wide open now
However, the regular season was never the real question with this team. The question was whether OKC could get past San Antonio in May, and last season’s seven-game loss in the West finals came with Williams and Mitchell both banged up.
Meanwhile, the rest of the West isn’t waiting around. Minnesota, Houston and the Lakers all started 3-0, and the Spurs still have Victor Wembanyama, even if he hasn’t found his shot yet.
Personally, I picked the Thunder to win it all before the season, and I’m not ready to jump off just yet. As long as Gilgeous-Alexander is playing at an MVP level, they’re still a top-two team in the West. But they’re not the clear favorite anymore, and if Wallace isn’t back and healthy by April, or if Holmgren’s knee turns into a lingering issue, I’d lean San Antonio.
For now, OKC will put even more on Shai’s plate and hope its depth holds up. Let’s hope Williams’ surgery goes smoothly, because the league is simply more fun when he’s on the floor. The NBA is a crazy place, though. We’ll have to wait and see.
