Thank you for reading “Player Watch” – a featurette giving you our choice of players to keep an eye on. These players are either getting hot, currently hot or have a little something we just happened to notice. We’d like you to as well!
On this week’s “Player Watch,” we’re taking a look at 2nd year players. The NBA Finals gave us a great look at the effect young talent can have when reaching for the Larry O’Brien, and it’s no secret that there are diamonds in the rough draft classes. Our choice this time around is OKC Guard/Forward Jalen Williams, a 2nd year out of Santa Clara! Let’s take a look at his bio.
| 22-23 Stats | |
| Team: Oklahoma City Thunder | Pts: 14.1 |
| Position: Small Forward | Minutes: 30.3 |
| Last played at: Santa Clara University | FG%: 52% |
| Honors: 1st team All-Rookie | Steals: 1.4 |
Jalen has already achieved starting status from his 1st year at OKC, and looks to continue being a tandem (front and back court) force to power an already electric tandem of Shai-Gilgeous and Giddey. The team has been picked as a dark horse to make the playoffs this year, but it won’t get there without significant improvements across the board. This week, these are the questions we would like answered:
- Will he be able to handle an increased offensive load? Williams averaged just over 10 attempts a game. He will, most likely, need to increase that in order to force teams off SGA and J. Giddey.
- Can his shooting efficiency improve as his volume increases? Williams shot 52% from the field last year. As his volume increases though, he’ll need to make his attempts count. We’ve already seen multiple, triple-digit scores in the first week. Making his shots count will be the factor in OKC winning more games.
- What is his perimeter defense like this year? Can he kill a few offensive threats on his own? It’s got to be hard playing in the same division as Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Durant, etc. It’s got to be even harder to ask that of a 2nd year player and keep the opponent’s perimeter shooting down. He has matchups against the Cavs and Denver – both hot, high-powered playoff teams featuring star power outside and inside the paint.
As the week progresses, we’ll be excited to see what Jalen’s trajectory looks like. As mentioned, he has a big test on the road versus the Cavs, then a huge leap at home against the Nuggets.
Let us know what you think about this week’s featured player! Do you have another player in mind for us to watch! Comment below or tag us on Twitter/X using the hashtag #TSAPlayerWatch. Be sure to follow our Hoops writer @4fApollo as well. Find the rest of our NBA content and more here at TheSportsAffiliation.com
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