Limited to just 33 games in the regular season by a series of injuries, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams never really developed much of a rhythm.
However, after his 22-point, seven-rebound, six-assist performance in the Thunder’s 119-84 Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns in their first-round playoff series, Williams looks as if he is finally returning to form after being a key piece in last season’s championship run.
“He’s been out for so long, we knew it was going to take some time for him to get back to himself,” Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort said. “But he is now. He’s confident, real aggressive.”
The series continues Wednesday when the Thunder and Suns meet in Oklahoma City for Game 2.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his approach to making adjustments for the second game, after Oklahoma City built a big lead early and then maintained it in on Sunday in the series opener, was an open-minded one.
“We try to look at it more like a menu and less like a prediction,” Daigneault said. “We’re not going to try to guess. You don’t know what they’re going to do.
“There’s a lot of different directions they could go in. We try to understand what all those directions are — could be different lineups, it could be different tactics, could just be the same ones and try to execute them better. We try to account for all that, just make sure our team has contingencies.”
Among the improvements Phoenix coach Jordan Ott said his team must make in Game 2 is to avoid being in isolation against the Thunder’s defense.
While the Suns’ Dillon Brooks said the approach was a good one overall, he also said he wouldn’t avoid such matchups against fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“He’s a good defender overall, but I just like the matchup,” Brooks said. “Team Canada, we’ve been going at it for a while. I won’t forget our one-on-ones that we had in Paris. … You see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defense, I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end.”
Brooks had 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting in Game 1, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points but hit just 5 of 18 from the field.
Ott said Brooks has been one of the tone-setters for the Suns, not only through the season but in the play-in tournament and now the playoffs as well.
“That edge we talk about is super impactful for our culture and environment since Day 1,” Ott said. “He’s been in these playoff battles. Knows that it’s a series. You gotta play with that edge. It helped us get going.”
Phoenix’s Grayson Allen (hamstring) has missed the last four games, though he was listed as available for the last two. Allen went through some drills after practice on Tuesday and appears close to a return. He was listed as questionable on the injury report.
Suns center Mark Williams, who missed the past two games with a foot injury, was wearing a soft boot at practice while Jordan Goodwin, who left Game 1 with a calf injury, was wearing a black sleeve on his left leg. Both are also considered questionable.
