Kenrich Williams Could Be A Key Fixture Against Mavericks After Quiet First-Round

The Oklahoma City Thunder could lean on Kenrich Williams in Round 2 after going away from him in the Pelicans series.

Apr 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) talks / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Adjustments are the name of the game in the postseason and Mark Daigneault is no stranger to switching things up. In the Thunder's first-round series against the Pelicans, Daigneault started out going to Kenrich Williams when New Orleans went smaller with Larry Nance Jr. before ditching that plan en route to an opening round sweep.

However, that does not doom the TCU products' playoff future. Oklahoma City will have to view the Mavericks through a different lens than the Pelicans.

With the recent news of Maxi Kleber's injury, a small-ball wrinkle for Jason Kidd has been foiled, which would've been a prime spot for Williams to slot into the Thunder's rotation. Though, there are still ways for the gritty forward to make an impact.

Kidd has been eager to deploy a cross-match scheme with his big man being tasked with defending Josh Giddey - in practice that looks like ignoring the Thunder guard leaving him on an island to sink or swim from beyond the arc.

This allows the Mavericks to clog the lane and hamper the Thunder's drive-and-cut style of play. Even in the third contest between these two teams - where Giddey individually played well in the first half - Kidd's willingness to ignore the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft in favor of taking other aspects of the Thunder offense away could plant Giddey on the pine to no fault of his own.

With the Mavericks size advantage, leaning on Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins will be part of the plan for Daigneault but might not be the only wrinkle he should throw out.

Swapping Williams in place of Giddey - and alongside either Chet Holmgren or Jaylin Williams in the middle - could give OKC the best of both worlds.

Not only is the veteran forward a physical threat down low willing to mix it up defensively and work on the glass, but his 39 percent shooting from distance can loosen up the lane for the Thunder's offense.

Don't be surprised if things swing back to the 48 percent corner 3-point shooter in Round 2 and perhaps catch the Mavericks off guard with a chance to steal a game or two in this series.

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