Should OKC Thunder Find More Minutes For Kenrich Williams?

Oklahoma City’s five-game win streak came to a close on Saturday night in Miami, and the Thunder had every chance to win. Miami made plays down the stretch, and the Thunder missed a few good looks.

Overall, it was a strange game — especially in terms of the box score. The Thunder shot 54.5% from the floor and 44.8% from 3-point range, yet somehow lost. The craziest stat, though, is that Oklahoma City took 77 total shots over the course of the game, while Miami attempted 111. The Heat turned the ball over just four total times and ripped down a costly 21 offensive rebounds. They extended possessions left and right, and simply created more opportunities for themselves than the Thunder did.

Oklahoma City figured out a lot about itself during this five-game win streak. They reset the standard on the floor and got back to high effort and good defense thanks to a few key players who took the lead. One of those players was Kenrich Williams — and he’s someone that certainly could’ve helped on Saturday against the Heat. Especially on the glass, the Thunder needed his tenacity. If Jalen Williams is out for a handful of games, the Thunder will need Kenrich Williams to play more minutes, stepping in as a wing defender and a rebounder.

Williams only played two minutes against Miami, and the Thunder really struggled on the glass. Ironically, he was the one who jump started Oklahoma City's five-game winning streak, and willed the team to victory. On the road in Memphis, he completely changed the game in his 29 minutes, pouring in 21 points and eight rebounds.

In the Thunder's first matchup against Miami, a win, Williams ripped down four rebounds in just six minutes of action. Whenever he is on the floor, he is always impacting the game at a high level. He has shown up in the scoring department a handful of times recently, but his impact stretches far beyond just points. He's useful even when he's not scoring.

With Isaiah Hartenstein still recovering from an injury, and now Jalen Williams sidelined with a hamstring injury, Oklahoma City could turn to Kenrich Williams for more minutes. And if his season sample size is any indication, it should be a good thing for the Thunder. He has done enough to warrant consistent playing time, and fills an area of need for the Thunder.