As Jaylin Williams played some of the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s biggest minutes, you couldn’t help but laugh at the conversations around him in the early parts of the regular season.
Designated as Nikola Jokic’s physical defender, Williams has carved out a rotation role against the Denver Nuggets. You need an army to stop the three-time MVP winner. The Thunder have that in their center room with Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.
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Sometimes, NBA playoff series bring the best out of role players. It’s all matchup-dependent. Against the Nuggets, Williams has been a perfect backup center who ensures the Thunder will have at least one center on the floor at all times while their three-headed monster alternates.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has flexed his depth all season. The unorthodox mind has zagged while everybody else zigs with playoff rotations. Instead of shaving down, he stays with his group.
Williams finished with two points, two rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes off the bench in Game 5. He played over three minutes of some of the highest-leverage minutes of the Thunder’s season in the fourth quarter. The move paid off as OKC collected a 112-105 win.
“He was huge. He’s been huge this series. Hart in the first quarter, I let his stint linger too long. Trying to keep these guys fresh. Especially the guys handling the major matchups. That was on me,” Daigneault said about Williams. “Getting to him earlier in both the third and fourth and keeping everybody fresh for Jokic was a high point of emphasis. He’s stepped up. Jaylin is an unbelievable competitor.”
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Look, there’s no stopping Jokic. Take his Game 5 for example. He finished with 44 points and 15 rebounds. But Williams has annoyed him enough to warrant the rotation minutes in this playoff series. Those won’t always be available but against Denver, he’s turned into a vital piece.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jaylin Williams continues role in Thunder’s playoff series vs. Nuggets