The Thunder are the first team in the NBA to reach 60 wins this year, posting a 60-12 record. They only have ten more games left in the season and need one more win to have the most wins in franchise history. With the season winding down, the Thunder have their sole focus on the playoffs. With the postseason around the corner, the Thunder must figure out what their rotation will look like. One player who might have earned a spot in the playoff rotation is Jaylin Williams.
Williams is averaging 5.9 points per game, with 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and shooting 40.7% from three. Since OKC has dealt with multiple injuries this season, he has been asked to play more than expected coming into the year. Williams has taken advantage of the opportunities he has been given, especially recently. In the last 10 games, he has averaged 9.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, and he has shot 55.6% from the field and 55.3% from three. In addition, he has gotten a triple-double in two of those games. However, the question that remains is: has Williams done enough to earn a consistent spot on the Thunder’s playoff rotation?
Has Jaylin Williams Played His Way Into The Playoff Rotation?
The Case for Him To Be in The Rotation
Williams not only has grown on the offensive side, but he has also grown on the defensive side. During his first two years in the NBA, he wasn’t that good of a defender or rim protector, and his highlighted plays were taking charges. He has shown more of an ability to wall up at the rim and become a more reliable rim protector, even though he is undersized. In addition to his improved rim protection, he can still force charges against the offensive player. Finally, even with him being undersized for a center, he has become a more reliable rebounder.
In the playoffs, you want certain guys in your rotation. You want shooters, you want players who can play with multiple lineups, and players who can offer a playmaking ability when scoring gets tougher in the playoffs. Furthermore, you also want players who aren’t a liability on defense. Williams can give you a multitude of things you need in the playoffs. Not only does he bring great energy whenever he is on the court and competes his tail off, but also, the players on the team gravitate towards him. In addition, he is one of their better three-point shooters and is an underrated passer and playmaker. These are key skills that Williams has and ones that you need to be in the Thunder playoff rotation.
Why it Will Be Hard For Him
However, even with Williams possessing all of these skills, it will be hard for him to find a consistent spot in the rotation. There are a couple of reasons why it will be hard for him.
The first one is that the Thunder are an extremely deep team. In the playoffs, teams tend to only play around 8-9 guys and, at most, ten. The Thunder already have nine guys that are locked to be in the playoff rotation. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are locked to be starters. Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein will most likely be the fifth starter, depending on their matchup. Then Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins will be coming off the bench. That means for Jaylin Williams to play, the Thunder would have to play 10 guys, and he would have to beat out the likes of Kenrich Williams, Ajay Mitchell, and Ousmane Dieng for that last spot.
The second reason is Williams is the third center on the team, with Hartenstein and Holmgren ahead of him. In this era of NBA basketball, it is hard for teams to have a good reason to play three centers. In addition, with everything that Williams can offer, like shooting, playmaking, and rebounding, the combination of Hartenstein and Holmgren is bringing that same impact.
The Most Likely Outcome
Finally, even though Williams won’t have a consistent spot on the Thunder’s playoff rotation, it doesn’t mean he won’t have a role. With William’s recent stretch and the improvements that he has made, it will be hard for the Thunder not to give him some type of role in the playoffs. The Thunder will most likely still have a 10-man rotation in the playoffs like they did last year. However, the tenth man will most likely only get like 4-8 minutes. That spot will be shared between Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams depending on who they are playing. If the matchup is against a bigger team, it will be Jaylin, and if it is a smaller team, it will be Kenrich.
The Last Word on Williams and OKC’s Playoff Rotation
Coming into the year, Jaylin Williams was just viewed as a regular-season player and not a postseason player. Last year, Williams was the backup center for the Thunder in the playoffs. The Thunder struggled in the minutes he was on the court. Now, the Thunder have Hartenstein, and Williams becomes the third-string center. This will only make it harder for him to garnish minutes in the playoffs. However, this year, he has shown a lot of progression and improvement, and he’s recently been playing the best basketball of his career. Finally, Williams’s play has earned him a role in the playoffs, even if it is a small one and not a guaranteed rotation spot every game.
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