As expected, the reigning champs will be shorthanded Tuesday night.
Star wing Jalen Williams has been ruled out in Game 1 against the Lakers due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
“He’s progressing according to plan, I would say,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said Monday when speaking with media. “In terms of a timeline, we’re not going to release that. We’ll continue to let you guys know on a week-to-week basis.”
It was an injury-ravaged season for Williams in which he only played 33 games, less than half the regular season.
He was sidelined for the Thunder’s first 19 games, during which they went 18-1, because of offseason surgery on his right wrist. He then missed 10 games between January and February because of a right hamstring strain, playing in two games, before aggravating the hamstring and missing another five weeks.
Williams played in the first two games of Oklahoma City’s first-round series vs. the Suns. He averaged 20.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, a good sign after he averaged 17.1 points per game during the regular season.
However, he suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain during Game 2 of the series against Phoenix on April 22.
Because Grade 1 hamstring strains typically heal in one to two weeks, there was a good chance Williams would return by the beginning of this next round. But Williams’ injury appears to be worse than originally expected after Daigneault’s comments.
The Lakers will also be shorthanded as Luka Doncic has been ruled out for Game 1 as well.
