Kondisi pincang melanda Oklahoma City Thunder dan San Antonio Spurs menjelang Gim 3 Final Wilayah Barat setelah Jalen Williams serta rookie Dylan Harper mengalami cedera hamstring pada Gim 2 yang berlangsung Rabu malam.
Dilansir dari NBC Sports, kedua pemain pilar tersebut dijadwalkan menjalani pemeriksaan MRI guna memastikan tingkat keparahan cedera, sehingga status mereka untuk laga hari Jumat malam di San Antonio masih dipertanyakan.
Williams, yang mencetak 26 poin pada Gim 1, tercatat hanya bermain selama tujuh menit pada Gim 2 sebelum akhirnya ditarik keluar akibat cedera paha kiri tersebut kambuh kembali setelah sempat absen dalam enam laga playoff sebelumnya.
Bintang Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, menyampaikan pandangannya mengenai situasi sulit yang dihadapi oleh timnya akibat kehilangan sang pemain sayap All-NBA tersebut.
"Obviously if we don’t have him it hurts," ujar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, pebasket Oklahoma City Thunder. "I still believe in this team, though. Like you said, we played a bunch of games without him, won big games without him, but I still think we can get the job done. But yeah, losing a guy like that, a caliber of player like that, no matter how good your team is otherwise, it hurts a little bit. And also for him as a human being. He had a tough year with injuries."
Selain membahas Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander juga memuji kebijakan Manajer Umum Sam Presti yang mengutamakan karakter personal pemain saat mendatangkan Isaiah Hartenstein dan Alex Caruso untuk memperkuat tim musim ini.
"Sam has passed on talents to get human beings," kata Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, pebasket Oklahoma City Thunder. "That mindset has really helped this group. It’s a big reason why we all get along so well and have this chemistry that everyone talks about. Sam brings a certain type of person in here."
Sementara itu, Jared McCain selaku pemain cadangan Thunder menyatakan kesiapannya untuk tampil habis-habisan demi berkontribusi bagi tim meskipun akurasi tembakannya sedang menurun dalam pertandingan ketat.
"Anything I can do. Shot’s not falling, I want to stay on the court no matter what," tutur Jared McCain, pemain cadangan Oklahoma City Thunder. "So if I can make some hustle plays, get some rebounds, anything I can to stay in the floor I wanna do."
Pemain cadangan lainnya, Ajay Mitchell, menegaskan bahwa kedalaman skuad Thunder menjadi kekuatan utama karena seluruh elemen tim selalu berada dalam kondisi siap tempur kapan saja dibutuhkan.
"I think it’s just a team that, one through 15, everyone is always ready," ungkap Ajay Mitchell, pemain cadangan Oklahoma City Thunder. "Everyone really buys into it. I feel like every time we put someone in, he’s going to have an impact, which is huge."
Rekan setimnya, Alex Caruso yang membidik gelar juara ketiganya, menambahkan bahwa mentalitas tanpa rasa takut menjadi syarat mutlak bagi sebuah tim untuk memenangkan pertandingan krusial di fase playoff.
"It’s that time of year," ucap Alex Caruso, pebasket Oklahoma City Thunder. "If you’re not fearless, then you’re probably gonna lose and go home. You’ve got to lay it all out on the line if you want to win. If you want to win big, at least. If you want to win the last game of the season, which I do. Every time that I’m here, I want to win the last one. For me, it’s pretty easy to get myself going and lock into that mentality."
Di sisi lain, kubu San Antonio Spurs juga menghadapi tekanan berat akibat absennya Dylan Harper yang menyusul De'Aaron Fox ke ruang perawatan, sehingga memaksa Stephon Castle melakukan 20 kali turnover dalam dua gim.
Pelatih San Antonio Spurs, Mitch Johnson, mengakui bahwa tekanan pertahanan yang diberikan oleh lini belakang Thunder menjadi jauh lebih berat ketika timnya kehilangan para fasilitator serangan utama.
"They turn you over," keluh Mitch Johnson, pelatih San Antonio Spurs. "So when you’re down some of your primary creators and initiators, it causes a little bit of an extra strain, whether that’s who to play, what to play, what to run, etc. It’s tough fully loaded against these guys."
