The Oklahoma City Thunder have suffered a major setback after Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace were injured in the same game. Both players need surgery, leaving the defending champions without two key starters for an extended period. On NBC’s NBA coverage, Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady questioned whether the Thunder could still win the championship and pointed to Jared McCain as one player who must do more. Alex Caruso also faces a bigger role, but he suffered a right ankle sprain during Monday’s 125-114 win over Phoenix. Despite the injuries, McCain scored 18 points as Oklahoma City improved to 4-0.
Tracy McGrady Challenges Jared McCain To Fill Jalen Williams’ Role
During the NBC discussion, host Ahmed Fareed asked: “Can they win a championship without [Jalen] Williams and Cason Wallace?”
McGrady replied: “No, I don’t think they could,” McGrady said. “Considering they lost Wiggins, they lost Lu Dort, and they lost one more player, which was [Isaiah Joe]who was key to that success. And for me, it’s, can your young guys get better? You have [Alex] Caruso, who’s a vet, I think is going to have to step his game up. You’re going to have Jared McCain. Can he step his game up to another level and fill the role for those guys that’s left and J-Dub? So, I think those guys have to do so much with what they lost. I just think it’s a tall task for how deep the West is and how great, you know, the top guys in the West.”
McGrady’s concern is that replacing Williams and Wallace will take more than one player. Vince Carter agreed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs more help creating and finishing plays.
“I agree. I think they’re very competitive. They will be competitive,” Carter said. “But when you lose a guy like J-Dub, who is a guy who could take some pressure off of SGA as far as putting the ball in his hands, allowing SGA to play one-on-one on the other side, and then Cason Wallace, a guy who takes a lot of pressure also off SGA guarding the best player… Do they have enough guys to offset? We’ve seen Detroit struggle with Cade Cunningham having to do so much to where he wore down. This could be one of those situations. I do think they still have a lot of guys who are very capable, but you’re missing so much on the offensive end. This hurts.”
Jared McCain Responds As Thunder Beat Phoenix Suns
McCain made a strong start in his first start of the season, scoring 18 points with four assists. Ajay Mitchell added a career-high 30 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26.
However, Caruso’s ankle injury creates another concern. With Williams and Wallace facing lengthy recoveries, Oklahoma City will need McCain and Mitchell to keep contributing while its stars are sidelined.
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