Jalen Williams fails to beat playoff allegations in Thunder’s Game 1 collapse vs. Nuggets

On Monday evening, the Oklahoma City dropped Game 1 of their second round playoff series vs the Denver Nuggets in shocking fashion. The Thunder controlled this game for most of the evening but collapsed in the final minute, with their strategy of fouling up three ultimately backfiring when Chet Holmgren missed two free throws and Aaron Gordon hit a game-winning three for Denver.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a strong performance with 33 points but didn’t get a whole lot of help from his supporting cast, including most notably Jalen Williams, also known as JDub.

Williams finished the game with 16 points on a dismal 5-20 shooting performance from the field. The first time All-Star had some questions coming into this postseason after his rough showing throughout last year’s playoff run, and although he mostly played well in the first round vs the Memphis Grizzlies, those same questions will surely arise after his poor night in Game 1 vs Denver.

The lack of a legitimate traditional number two option has been the one real cause for skepticism about the Thunder this season amid what was otherwise an utterly dominant campaign.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is likely going to win his first league MVP this year and is arguably the best pure bucket-getter in the NBA landscape currently, but championship teams traditionally have at least two players who can go create their own shot whenever it’s needed.

Williams has certainly shown flashes of that ability throughout his career, but whether he can do so reliably on the playoff stage remains a major question mark for Oklahoma City moving forward.

Thunder fans shouldn’t be in too much of a panic over the Game 1 loss. Oklahoma City controlled the game for the most part, and even if he doesn’t play like a superstar the rest of the series, it’s unlikely that Williams will continue to shoot under 30 percent from the field moving forward.

Still, the Thunder will be feeling the pressure to even things up when they take the court for Game 2 on Wednesday evening at 9:30 PM ET.