star thunder forward Jalen Williams Left the first half of Oklahoma City's 105-101 road win Wednesday against the Warriors with a right eye injury Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.
All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander had big problems without Williams. He shot just under 5 of 16 from the floor in the second half.
Downtown Oklahoma Isaiah Hartenstein felt that the team's overall approach to the game should not have changed significantly despite Williams' late absence. However, with Gilgeous-Alexander's shot not falling, the team struggled to put Golden State away and lost almost its entire 19-point lead.
“But that shouldn’t change the way we play.” Hartenstein said of Williams' departure. “I don’t think we got it done the way we should have. … We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”
There's more from the northwest:
- The Nuggets had difficulty scoring in the “middle eight” of their first halves — the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter, notes Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “We were talking about it the other day that I think in the first 16 games this season we've only won the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter once.” Head coach Michael Malone said. “Every other game (we lose) in that eight-minute period, which usually coincides with Nikola being out. So there are a lot of nights where I think we actually get off to a good start. That we actually play well. And then we have this section, this four, six, eight minute section where the bottom falls out. … And the second half, for whatever reason, was better.” According to Durando, Denver ranked No. 2 overall in the second half and No. 29 in the first half before the final match.
- Aside from their offensive problems in the “Middle Eight” phase of the first half, they have Nuggets have also shown defensive weaknesses at the start of this season, which is partly due to this Aaron Gordon's long absence. At least in their 122-103 win on Wednesday against the Jazz, the Nuggets looked significantly better on this end of the floor, writes Durando one more piece. Point guard Jamal Murray picked up opponents for every 94 feet. “Be more physically active from the start of possession” Murray said about his better defensive performance. “They don't allow them to easily get into their space or put their screens where they want to put them. Stuff like that. So I think it's important that as a group we're not just one or two people, but we get everyone to do this. And we've had good conversations – I'm talking about this game. We did a terrible job. But today we’ve done a better job of switching and talking, and even if there’s a mistake or a glitch, having help behind it.”
- Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels would like to advance further this season with an important award. After being named to the 2024 All-Defensive Second Team, the 3-and-D swingman is aiming to be named to the 2025 All-Defensive First Team, he writes Marc J. Spears from Andscape. He is currently in the first season of a five-year, $136 million contract extension he signed with Minnesota in the 2023 offseason. “That is one of my goals [First Team],, McDaniels said. “That was me [Second Team] Last season. It's a big goal. As the first team, we are taking it step by step. For me, I protect the best players. I don't exclude them, but I make it difficult for them. I do them [shooting] Percentages lower.
