Northwest Notes: Williams, Nuggets, Thunder, McDaniels

star thunder forward Jalen Williams According to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City left the first half of Oklahoma City’s 105-101 road win on Wednesday against the Warriors with a right eye injury.

All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander had big problems without Williams. He shot just 5 of 16 from the floor in the second half.

Downtown Oklahoma Isaiah Hartenstein felt that the team’s overall approach to the game should not have changed significantly despite Williams’ late absence. However, with Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot missing, the team struggled to defeat Golden State and nearly blew its entire 19-point lead.

“But that shouldn’t change the way we play.” Hartenstein said of Williams’ departure. “I don’t think we got it done the way we should have. … We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”

There’s more from the northwest:

• The Nuggets struggled to score in the “middle eight” of their first half — the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “We were talking about this the other day, about how I think in the first 16 games this season we’ve only won the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter once.” Head coach Michael Malone said. “Every other game (we lose) that eight-minute stretch that usually coincides with Nikola (Jokic) be outside. So there are a lot of nights where I think we actually get off to a good start. That we actually play well. And then we have this section, this four, six, eight minute section where the bottom falls out. … And the second half, for whatever reason, was better.” According to Durando, Denver ranked No. 2 overall in the second half and No. 29 in the first half before the final match.
• Aside from their offensive problems in the “middle eight” phase of the first half, they Nuggets have also shown defensive weaknesses at the start of this season, which is partly due to this Aaron Gordon‘s long absence. At least in their 122-103 win on Wednesday against the Jazz, the Nuggets looked significantly better in this area too, writes Durando in another Denver Post story. Point guard Jamal Murray picked up opponents for every 94 feet. “Be more physically active from the start of possession” Murray said about his better defensive performance. “They don’t allow them to easily get into their space or put their screens where they want to put them. Stuff like that. So I think it’s important that as a group we’re not just one or two people, but we get everyone to do this. And we’ve had good conversations – I’m talking about this game. We did a terrible job. But today we’ve done a better job of switching and talking, and even if there’s a mistake or a glitch, having help behind it.”
• After being named to the 2024 All-Defensive Second Team, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is looking to move up this season and is aiming to be named to the All-Defensive First Team in 2025, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He is currently in the first season of a five-year, $131 million contract extension he signed with Minnesota in the 2023 offseason. “That’s one of my goals, to be (first team)” McDaniels said. “I was (second team) last season. It’s a big goal. First team, we’ll take it step by step. For me, I protect the best players. I don’t exclude them, but I make it difficult for them. I reduce their (shooting) percentages.