There's no denying that Jalen Williams looked like a shell of himself during his return to action in Thursday's loss to San Antonio. However, even with this in mind, coupled with the sheer surprise that he was made available at the last second, the OKC Thunder were absolutely right to have played him.
In a way, Game 6 served as somewhat of a trial run for the All-Star forward, something teams rarely come across this late in the postseason.
Technically speaking, it wasn't a "do or die" kind of scenario, so the pressure for him to rise to the occasion was far less heavy than if he had made his long-awaited return in, say, Game 7.
The fact of the matter is, Williams looked rather rusty while playing in his first game in over a week.
Seeing action in three-minute spurts, J-Dub wrapped up his 10 minutes of action with just one point, one assist, and two turnovers while missing his lone field goal attempt and registering a minus-18 plus-minus.
Of course, regardless of these analytical lowlights, Williams took his biggest step yet towards getting back to his pre-injury form in Game 6, which, genuinely, is something that needs to be commended, not slandered.
Seeing in-game action, despite it coming in such a limited fashion, serves as a great litmus test for the medical and coaching staff to gauge where he stands before they could desperately use his talents, should they be available for Saturday's winner-take-all showdown.
Thunder almost certainly won't see Ajay Mitchell again this series
The Thunder may have been able to get Jalen Williams back onto the hardwood during these Western Conference Finals, but fans shouldn't expect the same to happen with Ajay Mitchell.
At least, that's what ESPN's Tim MacMahon suggested during a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, where he said that while the guard hasn't technically been ruled out for the rest of the series, "common sense tells you it's probably pretty unlikely that he'll be able to play again."
After breaking out onto the scene during the better part of the first two rounds of the playoffs while filling in for the injured J-Dub, Mitchell sustained a right soleus strain mid-way through Game 3 of this ongoing series against the Spurs.
He's been out ever since.
Frankly, even with the high stakes that come with a Game 7, the Thunder must refrain from trying to bring Mitchell back -- after all, they saw firsthand what the outcome of bringing someone with a calf strain back too soon can be during last year's NBA Finals with Tyrese Haliburton.
While they'd certainly love to have their standout sophomore in the fold for such an important bout, as they've proven over the last two seasons and even as recently as this series, the OKC have the ability to overcome extreme injury-induced adversity.
Heading into Saturday, the hope is that the Thunder can outlast the Spurs and head to their second-straight NBA Finals with an even more rested Ajay Mitchell at the ready.
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