JALEN Williams

The October stretch has been steady rather than loud. Against Milwaukee on October 7 he put up 16 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists in 19.0 minutes and finished at plus 9.0 in a loss. Against Indiana on October 13 he scored 16 with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 21.1 minutes in a win, though his plus-minus was minus 11.0. Against Houston on October 15 he had his best scoring night, 18 points and 7 rebounds in 24.6 minutes, but no assists in a loss. Then on October 20 against San Antonio he went for 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 29.9 minutes in a win. The rebounding has been consistent at 7 in each of the last two games. The playmaking has swung from 6 assists to 0.

Williams played only 33 games last season for OKC. In 28.4 minutes a night he averaged 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.3 blocks, with 1.9 turnovers. He shot 48.4 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from three and 83.7 percent from the line. His true shooting percentage was 56.0 and his usage rate was 25.2. His plus-minus was plus 6.9, which says the Thunder were a good team when he was on the floor. The three-point number is the one that stands out as a weakness. At 29.9 percent, defenses can sag off him on the perimeter. The free throw shooting at 83.7 percent shows the touch is there, so the three ball is the swing skill for this season.

The playoff run last season was uneven for Williams. On April 8 against the Clippers he had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 32.4 minutes at plus 13.0. Then against Phoenix on April 19 and April 22 he scored 22 and 19 points in two wins, with a plus 22.0 and plus 17.0 on those nights. The San Antonio series was different. On May 18 he scored 26 with 7 rebounds in 37.3 minutes in a loss. On May 20 he played only 7.3 minutes and scored 4 in a win. On May 28 he played 10.2 minutes, scored 1 point and finished at minus 18.0 in a loss. Those two short outings sit between the September hamstring listing and the earlier spring games, and they are the backdrop for why his health was watched so closely in camp.

Three things matter for Williams over the next few weeks. First is minutes. He has gone from 19.0 to 29.9 across four games, and last season's 28.4 average is the baseline to measure against. Second is the three-point shot. Last season's 29.9 percent is the number that has to move. Third is the assist count. He averaged 5.5 last season but has had games of 0 and 2 assists this month alongside a 6-assist night. There are no trade or contract rumors involving him right now. The injury report is clear. The job is to keep it that way and to turn the steady 12-to-18 point nights into the 17.1 and 5.5 production the Thunder got from him last season on a per-game basis.