Jalen Williams Starting to Come Around Following Wrist Surgery

Jalen Williams is still trying to find his "New Normal," according to Mark Daigneault, following offseason wrist surgery. This rehab process has been difficult as the Santa Clara product missed all of training camp and has so far only been active for 17 games. In that span he has posted 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, two turnovers per game and 1.9 stocks per game while shooting 46% from the floor, 31% from beyond the arc and 86% from the charity stripe.

The turnovers and dip in efficiency can be tied back into his wrist as they have seen Williams miss shots he usually makes and get a bit too lose with his handle. These things take time to return to form, especially for the All-NBA swingman who missed training camp and got thrown into the deep end of the pool with just a handful of practices in between. He is getting his reads live, in front of the NBA world, to try to cure these issues.

On Sunday against Phoenix, the Oklahoma City Thunder saw Williams put together arguably his best game since returning to the lineup. In the Thunder's 108-105 loss, he posted 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists, four turnovers on 69% from the floor an 1-for-2 from deep while getting to the line to the tune of a 4-for-4 night.

Sure, it wasn't perfect, the handle was lost a few times in these four turnovers that could be attributed to the wrist, but the shot making while getting to his spots was encouraging on top of the force he played with to get downhill to the rim.

While things have not been peachy for Williams in his fourth year, and he admittedly is not playing at the All-NBA level from a year ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder have time on their side. This is a team in a win-now title window that should only be concerned with the postseason. The Thunder have four months to see their All Star swingman return to form and Sunday was an encouraging sign that it will be possible for him to find his footing again as time goes on.

Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder hope Williams can parlay this into another good outing on Monday as the team takes on the Charlotte Hornets. In the last five games, Williams is averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 50% from the floor, 12% from beyond the arc and 89% at the free throw line.

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