How Kenrich Williams embraced injury absence to immediately impact Thunder
Yesterday at 06:39 PM
After recovering from knee surgery, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams made his 2024-25 debut in a 106-88 win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. The seven-year veteran finished with three points and one assist in six minutes before making his presence felt in the Thunder’s 106-88 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Jalen Williams scored a season-high 31 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29, and Kenrich (seven points) and Aaron Wiggins (10 points) led the bench in scoring.
Kenrich Williams was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, including one three. He also finished with one rebound and one block in 14 minutes. Williams is settling into his fifth year with the Thunder and says the ten games he spent watching from the sidelines were beneficial toward the end of his road to recovery.
“Whenever you’re sitting down, and you’re watching, you’re able to just figure out ways you can help the team. And by sitting those ten games, I was able to say, OK, I know what I can bring to the table,” Williams said. “I can be scrappy, bring energy to the game, and those guys are doing an unbelievable job. The coaching staff is putting us in a great position to be successful. And this is about us going out and staying hungry and competing every night.”
With the loss of Chet Holmgren, who could miss up to three months, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will lean heavily on his rotation players, whom Williams will be a part of despite his reduced role in 2023-24. With the influx of wing players, Kenrich went from averaging 22.8 minutes in 2022-23 to playing 14.9 last season.
However, Kenrich Williams and the Thunder are going small with a thinning frontcourt missing three centers: Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, and Isaiah Hartenstein. Daigneault’s small-ball approach is working thus far as Oklahoma City’s leaned heavily on its defensive prowess before going 2-0 in Holmgren’s absence.
Alex Caruso ruled out for Thunder’s matchup against the Suns
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso has a hip injury, which forced him to miss Wednesday’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Then, Caruso’s name popped up a second time ahead of the Thunder’s Western Conference showdown against the Phoenix Suns.
Caruso’s absence from Friday’s game due to a sore right hip technically poaches one of head coach Mark Daigneault’s makeshift centers. The 2024 All-Defensive guard has been spending time at the center position since Holmgren’s injury. This should mean extended playing time for players like Kenrich Williams, Aaron Wiggins, and Ajay Mitchell.
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