The Oklahoma City Thunder, as expected, took Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Phoenix Suns in dominant fashion.
Their swarming defense held Phoenix to just 84 points, taking away virtually everything inside the paint and funneling the ball to the perimeter, where the Suns shot just 33.3%. On the other end of the court, their scoring was relatively evenly distributed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points. Jalen Williams had 22, and Chet Holmgren joined in with 15.
The Suns, frankly, were outmatched and outplayed, and it seems that, at this rate, the series will quickly be brought to an end.
This is obviously good news for the Thunder. They answered a number of questions on Sunday afternoon, and they will look to use this series to gather information about their rotations and the current expectations for players such as Jalen Williams who have struggled with injuries this season.
But the biggest X-factor of the series may not even be on their roster. Mark Williams, the Suns' starting center, was absent for Game 1. Although Oso Ighodaro had an impressive game on the glass, he doesn't give Phoenix enough juice inside for them to truly compete.
The Suns need Williams back. If he doesn't return, this series is essentially over.
The Suns need Mark Williams back in action for this to be a competitive series
Williams missed both Phoenix's final game of the Play-In Tournament and their first game against the Thunder with left foot soreness.
There's currently no definitive timetable for his return.
Ighodaro didn't have a completely negative game in his absence. He competed on the boards with Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, securing seven offensive rebounds and nine total rebounds over the course of the game. But he was completely outmatched on the other end of the court, posting zero points on 0-of-3 shooting from the field.
Overall, the Thunder held the Suns to just 40% shooting from the restricted area, per Andrew Schlecht.
The Thunder held the Suns to 40% in the restricted area (6/15)
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) April 19, 2026
It's not as though Williams is among Phoenix's star offensive performers. He averaged just 11.7 points this season. But with him out, the Suns' combination of Ighodaro and rookie big Khaman Maluach will not be enough to prevent Oklahoma City from completely shutting down the rim.
Williams has the size and the rebounding feel to at least seal off one of the Thunder's primary paint defenders and get to the cup when he's needed. Ighodaro and Maluach don't.
There's still a lot of this series to be played, and things could look very different if the Suns start to hit their 3-point shots. But for now, it looks like Oklahoma City has an obvious path to dominating this series wire-to-wire if Williams doesn't return.
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