Last season, Jalen Williams played through a torn ligament in his shooting wrist. He still managed to play 23 playoff games and averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 three pointers in 34.6 minutes per game — a central contributor in Oklahoma City’s championship campaign.
Williams underwent surgery on July 1 and is still recovering from the procedure. The Thunder forward is not on the active roster for Tuesday’s season opener against the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
There’s no timetable for his return, but it’s not expected to be a long ways off.
Last season, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unsurprisingly saw the biggest usage increase (3.78%) when Williams was off the floor.
It will be interesting to see who head coach Mark Daigneault inserts into the starting lineup, especially since the Rockets have decided to supersize their lineup by going with Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace seem like the most likely options to start for the Thunder.
OKC will also be without Isaiah Joe (knee), Kenrich Williams (knee), Nikola Topic (groin) and Thomas Sorber, who will miss the season with a torn ACL.
As it stands, the Thunder enter as 7.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Rockets listed as +240 underdogs. Tip-off in Oklahoma City is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
