Stiles Points: Jalen Williams Growth Is Why Patience Is Important

Friday night was deja vu all over again for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Game 3 came down to clutch time and this team failed its retake exam.

Just as the Denver Nuggets wrestled away Game 1 down the stretch, they did the same in Game 3. The opening act for the late game performance was much of the same, as well.

The Oklahoma City Thunder faltered offensively, laboring its way to 104 points in a game that played five extra minutes. The Thunder again struggled to hit water out of a boat from 3-point range (25%) and gagged away free points at the charity stripe (15-for-22). With margins this slim, that just can not happen. Regardless of how the final seconds unfolded, the path to get there was just as disastrous.

While everyone will point to the Thunder's historically low amount of clutch time games this season, they miss the forest for the trees. Why didn't Oklahoma City play in tight contests? Because they did the little things right to pull away before the arbitrary minute threshold was hit. Look no further than their March 27 game against the Memphis Grizzlies, that ends up getting Head Coach Taylor Jenkins canned.

That game was nip-and-tuck for three quarters before a 34-15 avalanche run broke it open and evaded clutch time minutes by a whopping two minutes. The easy thing to do is shout and scream, "Well, this is the postseason! Things are different!" But are they really?

Not only did Oklahoma City pull away and railroad this Nuggets team just 72 hours ago, but if the Thunder clean up just a couple of aspects of its night, they get another route of Denver. That is the real trick: OKC did not do the little things, most of which were in their control, for two games in this series.

The Thunder were beaten in the Non-Jokic minutes, Oklahoma City threw up enough bricks to build a remote campus for the University of Cameron in Denver, they didn't force enough turnovers, they didn't make free throws and they stopped running an offense that has gotten them this far. Looking more like the your-turn my-turn style of yesteryear than the smooth jazz, rifting, connective style of this core.

If any of those areas are fixed, Oklahoma City wins this game. If two or more of these categories get cleaned up, they avoid another clutch time game.

The bottom line is: Perhaps this young Thunder team is too young. Maybe the critics are right, they must earn battle scars. Maybe the supporting cast is not steady enough from 3-point land to be counted on. But the only thing we know for a fact after three games of this series: patience remains the right approach.

No, I am not just talking about patience within this series. Though that applies also. This is just one game of a best-of-seven war. Unless you (bullishly) picked Thunder in 5, your prediction is still alive. This scribe pegged Thunder in 7, meaning Oklahoma City would always need to be bested three times to come out on the other side. If the Thunder do their job and win Game 4, Thunder in 7 is back on the menu. Patience.

A long-term view is needed of this young Thunder team. Perhaps they aren't ready...yet. People love to forget the yet. This is the youngest team in the NBA Playoff field, this is just their second-ever crack at trying to hike up the NBA's equivalent of Everest. These things take time.

Look no further than Jalen Williams. The Thunder's third-year swingman, who has been heavily criticized for his playoff performances, shortcomings and inconsistencies.

One year ago, people were fearful of the future. Could this core soar to the top of that mountain? That was always silly to question. But the fact of the matter was, Williams laid a dud against Dallas in the Thunder's Round 2 loss to the Mavs.

Then, he becomes an NBA All-Star in year three, he helps lift the Thunder to 68 wins, and improves his game dramatically. Williams puts together an impressive series against the Memphis Grizzlies en route to another sweep of a weak West opponent.

With vibes at an all-time high around the Santa Clara product, things came crashing down again with a lackluster Game 1 performance that wasn't good enough to get the Thunder a win and the fingers were pointed directly at the youngster, with the past Dallas series held up as validation.

Patiences.

Since then, the Oklahoma City Thunder swingman posted 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks while shooting 54% from the floor on his way to a +23 in the Thunder's 149-108 win.

Tonight, he had the best playoff game of his career, going for 32 points, three rebounds, and five assists on 54/43/87 shooting splits in his 44 minutes of action. This total includes a jaw-dropping 16 points in the final frame to save the Thunder from a bottoming-out offense.

Now, when you take a step back, Williams has put together a stellar postseason, good enough for the Thunder to not only compete but play championship-level basketball, save for one poor game. Tonight, the Thunder let him down.

This is the reason patience is so important. Look what difference a single year makes for Williams. Now, imagine how this team will look a year from now.

No matter how this series –– or season –– ends for Oklahoma City, they must stay the course. This is life in the NBA.

Look around at the depths of NBA history, or just look no further than the past two NBA Champions, you will quickly be slapped in the face with their failures before seeing a triumph.

While hard to keep this perspective in the moment, is a requirement for sustainable team building and eventually getting over the hump.

Patiences.

This series is far from over. Welcome back to the Playoffs, Oklahoma City. For the first time in a long time, there are actual expectations laid at the feet of the Thunder, actual disappointment on the line. Despite being down 2-1, everything is still out in front of this current Thunder team.

Patiences.