The Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded impressively in Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs, finding their old offensive flow and capitalizing on some of their opponents' inconsistencies on the defensife end.
But they'll now need to (again) face the absence of one of their stars, Jalen Williams, who is day-to-day with a hamstring injury that limited him to just seven minutes in Game 2. Needless to say, this is a major blow to the Thunder. Williams was excellent in Game 1, posting 26 points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 11-of-25 shooting from the floor.
Oklahoma City, however, has grown used to playing without Williams at this point. They've found an offensive stasis with him off the court, and it's one that should be replicable even against this formidable San Antonio defense.
In his absence, though, they'll need a re-emergence from budding star Ajay Mitchell. As unfair as it might be to put the second-year guard in that sort of spotlight, he now has no choice.
The Thunder need Ajay Mitchell to be more aggressive in Jalen Williams' absence
Williams is nominally day-to-day, but let's face the facts here. This is Williams' fourth hamstring injury of the season. He's already missed much of the playoffs, and it's likely he misses multiple games of this series.
Thankfully, Mitchell has stepped up in his absence. Through the four games of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers, he averaged 22.5 points, three rebounds, and six assists while shooting 56.3% from the floor. When paired with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he's capable of capitalizing on the star's gravity to get downhill and create strong looks for himself and his teammates.
With Williams back in action for Game 1 of the Spurs' series, Mitchell was largely sidelined offensively. He played 33 minutes, but he took just five field-goal attempts and scored four points. Even in Game 2, where Williams left in the first quarter, Mitchell took just eight field-goal attempts.
Granted, he's not as well-suited for this series as he was for their bout with Los Angeles. The Spurs have tall, strong guards who are capable of staunch perimeter defense. Mitchell doesn't have the size nor the strength that Williams does to content with Castle and Harper.
But he does have the shot-making abilities and the nose for the ball that could help him to make a difference in this series.
With Williams out, the Thunder can't simply rely on Gilgeous-Alexander as their lone offensive focal point. He hasn't been nearly consistent enough in these playoffs to warrant that.
Someone needs to step up, and Mitchell can't allow himself to fade away again like he did in Games 1 and 2.
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