BOSTON — As he works his way into form following a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the past two months, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams acknowledged the physical and mental hurdle that accompanies each game back.
“Anybody that’s had a hamstring injury, it’s never during, it’s usually after [the game],” Williams told ESPN Wednesday morning before the Thunder played the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “Tonight, will be another test. Obviously, I played two games before and then I got hurt [again]. These next games are more the test.”
He passed the test just by the lack of limp in his gait during the postgame news conference, even after his modest seven points, three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of playing time in the Thunder’s 119-109 loss that was billed as a possible NBA Finals preview.
Williams had returned from a right hamstring injury in more spectacular fashion last month but lasted only two games before pulling it again. He missed 10 games before the aggravation, then the next 16 after his brief appearance.
“It’s an eerie feeling,” Williams told ESPN. “When you pull it, it’s such a new feeling, the movements you do when you’re ramping back up is scary. But now I have confidence, working out, I don’t think about it when I’m playing.”
The Thunder are being cautious with Williams’ return, knowing another hamstring pull could end his season and seriously derail their chances to repeat as NBA champions.
He played 20 minutes Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers. On Wednesday, Williams was at the 21-minute mark before Thunder coach Mark Daigneault reinserted him with a little under three minutes remaining.
“We’re still managing the minutes. We’re soft on that, it’s not a hard cap,” Daigneault said. “We’re definitely not looking at 30-minute nights yet.”
Williams and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum were at times matched up against each other Wednesday. Neither played in the last Celtics-Thunder game two weeks ago in Oklahoma City, and both can relate to coming back from serious injuries. They commiserated after the game, bonded by rehab.
“It’s good to see, somebody of that caliber — you want to see them on the floor. It’s dope that he gets to do that. He looked very good,” Williams said. “I was talking to him a bit, it’s hard, there’s no flow. I’ve never checked into a game and I’m not sweating at all. Figuring it out is a learning curve.”
Tatum was playing his 10th game following Achilles surgery last May and had a bounce-back game of sorts with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Williams missed the Thunder’s first 20 games following offseason wrist surgery, then had his hamstring ailments pop up six weeks after getting back to the floor.
“Our minute restrictions are different,” Williams said. “I don’t even know what their restriction is [for Tatum], but a lot of players tell you, when you’re used to playing 35 minutes and you take 10 away from that or 12 away, your game gets a little more choppy.”
Williams said his goals are more minute, even as the Thunder battle the San Antonio Spurs for home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs. The Thunder sit two games in front of the charging Spurs with nine games remaining, and the Spurs hold the tiebreaker.
“When you have the same injury twice, it’s a mental obstacle, getting back to doing moves as explosive as you want,” Williams said. “Definitely not an excuse, just something gets [overlooked] but it comes from being on a good team. You don’t want to mess up the flow of the game. It’s moving pieces in the last 10 games of the season.”