OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault set the record straight on whether his team's success and depth delay specific timetables for his players' injury recoveries. As the defending champion Thunder entered Sunday's matchup with a list of injuries, including All-Star Jalen Williams, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich Williams.
The Williamses have yet to make their season debuts, and Wiggins has missed the past eight games.
“I'm coming back soon,” Wiggins said before Sunday's game. “Hopefully.”
At the same time, the Thunder is 16-1 for the best record in the NBA. And while some believe Oklahoma City has a talented enough roster to sustain such injuries to Daigneault's player rotation, the Thunder's head coach says it hasn't been the team's approach to handling injuries.
“No. Those are all health decisions,” Daigneault said. “We're always conservative. We're always cautious because of the health of our players. If we have to wait another day or another week, or another game, to get a more full version of the player that's going to be more sustainable from a health standpoint, we're always going to do that. Those decisions are not made with any association to team performance, depth, or anything like that.
“If we got guys out, we'll go all the way to the end of our roster, and play the guys that are on two-ways. Those minutes has nothing to do with how we make health decisions with the players,” Daigneault concluded.
Cason Wallace has been starting in place of Williams in the starting lineup.
Thunder bench scores 71 points in historic performance
Coach Mark Daigneault watched the Thunder bench score 71 points against the Jazz, the second-most the second unit has ever scored in franchise history. Daigneault highlighted Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe, and Ajay Mitchell as key contributors to the Thunder's second-unit success.
“I thought J-Will, I-Joe, Caruso, Ajay — those guys came into the game and elevated the tone, and got the game back into a stable spot, which allowed us to just build through the rest of the game,” Daigneault said. “I thought those were two very key things tonight.”
The Thunder will look to improve to 17-1 in Sunday's matchup against the Trail Blazers.
