How Jalen Williams is balancing role in OKC Thunder's Big Three
There’s no telling which version of Jalen Williams you’ll get. Which personality might take consciousness, if a play might lure his alter ego out like a man possessed.
There’s Jalen, the stoic sophomore who’ll blend in with a couple of oft-nonchalant teammates like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. Then there’s ‘Dub,’ the version of him typically seen yelling at the turn of games who’s admittedly an entirely “different dude.”
Williams’ emotions aren’t alone. His game comes with a subset of versions, too. Few have been as relevant as the primary ball handler that runs loose with the second unit.
Starts of second and fourth quarters become Williams’ world. His playground, a simulation in which he can retreat to summer workouts with cones. Coach Mark Daigneault has counted on Williams in those moments, both to stack reps as the Thunder’s primary initiator and keep the team afloat while Gilgeous-Alexander rests.
Buried somewhere in Oklahoma City’s early success, the nurturing of Jalen, the creator, has been a necessary development.
More: 'Game’s not over': How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lifted Thunder vs. Nuggets in statement win
“I think the biggest thing for me is just realizing what spots I'm in on a consistent basis and trying to rep those out continuously over this past summer,” Williams said. “And even now I feel like I also treat games like the most live reps you can get.”
Williams, who entered play Saturday averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, isn’t new to having to go get a bucket. Once a longtime point guard that saw a late growth spurt, Williams understands how to run an offense.
His challenge this season has been to bottle up those traits for an encouraging young team barreling toward the postseason. To find the right amount of pop when sharing the floor with SGA, a walking 30-piece that no one looks to subtract from. To reasonably unleash it within non-SGA minutes to the point the Thunder doesn’t sense a loss.
As with many things this young core has ironed out early, navigating that process begins with a nod from the bench.
“I think when the coaches have confidence for me to just kind of go out and play, I'm able to kind of be free flowing and figure out what I like to do on the court,” said Williams.
Trusting the group to teeter between defensive coverages on Kevin Durant and trusting Williams as a decision maker aren’t distant issues. Daigneault has noted he doesn't want these sort of processes to be robotic. Great teams hold a firm grip in situations where they have to make spontaneous choices without any guidance but their own.
The NBA doesn’t host too many tougher acts to follow than the nightly level of poise SGA demonstrates in heading OKC’s offense — his minutes with reserves seemingly only evoke further dominance. To start second and fourth quarters, Daigneault has essentially pushed Williams atop a field of flames and a pool of sharks with just a trapeze to balance on, and OKC’s version of Evel Knievel has mostly stuck the landing.
More: OKC Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren's joins hall of fame company with block party in Denver
How Jalen Williams fares with/without SGA, Chet Holmgren
In 75 minutes this season entering play Saturday without SGA or Holmgren, Williams has generated a 15.94 net rating, a 130.97 offensive rating and a 115.03 defensive rating.
Lineups paired with just one of SGA and Holmgren haven’t been as fruitful to this point; 153 minutes with Holmgren and no SGA have produced a -14.43 net rating, while 74 minutes with SGA and without Holmgren have amounted to a -1.28 net rating. Those numbers deserve context from variables like Josh Giddey possibly tainting spacing in those lineups, or Williams not having the same role definition. Williams' success without them deserves context too, like whether another ball handler is alongside him.
Williams is still navigating that line between scoring and playmaking, between aggression and decision making. Who he’s meant to be without the other thirds of OKC’s Big Three, and what version of himself to awake alongside either or both of them.
“Our team is so talented, when I’m out there everyone can score and can get their own,” Williams said. “So I think for me, it’s more of a balance in how I get other guys involved so they don’t feel frozen out.”
This season has brought moments where Williams takes over fourth quarters behind flurries of automatic midrange jumpers or strong finishes at the rim. Or sequences where his scoring gravity helps him throw dimes to shooters like Isaiah Joe or find cutters like Aaron Wiggins. It's also seen times where the lineups he leads hit a wall.
Daigneault has been mindful of the way he hopes to unlock Williams. He’s been equally intentional about the end goal for Williams’ on-ball growth.
More: Why Josh Giddey's outing vs. Kings could be 'encouraging' for OKC Thunder
“If you tell somebody, ‘be functional, make the right play,’ that can bite into their aggression,” Daigneault said. “And if you tell somebody, ‘Hey, be really aggressive,’ that can bite into their functionality. Every player needs to find a very appropriate blend of those things.
“He's a player that makes all the right plays. That was one of the things that popped about him, even in college is like, he just lets the game tell him what to do. He has no problem just getting off it and living to fight another touch. … We absolutely need him to be a head of the snake type player and a creator for us.”
The Thunder coach isn’t necessarily viewing the fruits of Williams’ second-unit success and what he looks like in the Thunder’s starting or closing groups through the same lens. While it's difficult not to think Williams' second-unit decision making leaks into his effectiveness in death lineups, Daigneault alludes that they're different worlds. Different environments that draw out separate versions of Williams or Dub or whoever’s present.
Daigneault just hopes the version of Williams he calls on is one capable of his balancing act.
Thunder vs. Grizzlies
TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Monday at Paycom Center (Bally Sport Oklahoma)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Jalen Williams is balancing role in OKC Thunder's Big Three
