The OKC Thunder are universally viewed as the best two-way team in the NBA. From their top-seeded record of 53-12 to their league-leading standing in both defensive rating and net rating, coach Mark Daigneault has this ball club operating like a well-oiled machine on both ends of the floor.
However, despite their bevy of strengths and overall dominance as a collective, a few areas of weakness are still present on the team and are considered potential deterrents to their title aspirations.
Easily the most troubling throughout the year has been Oklahoma City's offensive productivity with cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander taken out of the equation, as they boast an elite offensive rating of 122.2 with him and drop to a putrid 108.2 without him.
What has been most buzzed about in regard to this statistical sore spot is the fact that star sidekick Jalen Williams has regularly been tasked with trying to keep the scoring punch afloat in these non-SGA moments and, to much surprise, has failed to do so.
Even with his averages of 21.3 points per game, they go from scoring 123.6 points per 100 possessions with Shai on the floor to a mere 110.6 with just J-Dub.
Now, while many have chastised the 23-year-old for his unrealized abilities to serve as a much-needed offensive difference-maker in such sets, Monday night's loss to the Nuggets proved that things could get much, much worse.
Jalen Williams injury vs Denver saw Thunder offense plummet to new low
During the Thunder's second night of a back-to-back bout against Denver, Jalen Williams was forced out in the second quarter with a hip injury after an awkward collision with forward Peyton Watson.
Before his exit, the All-Star was off to a hot start, as he had already recorded 12 points and 6 assists on 50.0 percent shooting from the field while OKC held a six-point edge.
Unfortunately, his absence seemed to spark a momentum swing on the night, especially during the pivotal second half of action.
Through the first two quarters, the Thunder had outscored Denver 73-67 while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from deep while registering in with a whopping 140.4 offensive rating.
The final two periods, however, proved to be a completely different story, as Oklahoma City was outscored 73-54 while shooting a mere 40.8 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from distance, while their offensive rating dropped drastically to a pedestrian 114.9.
Diving even deeper into the contest's advanced metrics, it shows that, of those who played 14 or more minutes on the night, Jalen Williams led his team in offensive rating at a ridiculous 146.7, while the team dropped to 118.6 with him off the floor.
Add all this to the fact that the Nuggets' defense absolutely swarmed Gilgeous-Alexander during the decisive second half, holding him to just 10 points (only 2 of which came in the fourth period), and it's more than evident that the Thunder sorely missed the offensive abilities of their breakout co-star.
While he's officially been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Celtics, hopefully, Williams's injury won't be long-lasting, and OKC will get him back into the rotation soon.
If not, based on Monday's breakdown, there's a chance that fans could see the team's non-SGA offense plummet to even lower lows.