OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs will begin their Western Conference finals campaign without their starting guard De’Aaron Fox, who has been sidelined for Monday evening’s series opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to right ankle soreness. The setback creates an early challenge for the Spurs in what was expected to be a highly competitive matchup.
In contrast, Oklahoma City received positive news as Jalen Williams returned to action following a six-game absence caused by a left hamstring strain.
Fox participated in San Antonio’s morning practice session on Monday, with the player stating he was “trying to test it out.” He also took the court in Oklahoma City approximately 90 minutes before the scheduled tip-off for Game 1. However, that second session apparently did not produce the desired results, leading to the decision to keep him out of action.
Throughout these playoffs leading up to Monday, Fox had been contributing 18.8 points and 5.8 assists while playing a team-high 33.3 minutes per contest for San Antonio. The organization has not provided detailed information about the ankle problem, describing it only as soreness.
“It’s one of those deals where it’s not going away for as long as we’re playing, I don’t believe,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Fox was absent for San Antonio’s initial eight contests this season and had only missed three additional games since that time. The Spurs brought a 7-3 record into Monday when playing without Fox this season.
Williams had been unavailable for 55 of Oklahoma City’s first 90 games this season prior to Monday, including playoff contests. Among those missed games, 19 were due to a right wrist problem and 36 were connected to hamstring issues — with the right hamstring keeping him out for 30 regular season games and the left hamstring causing his most recent six-game absence during this playoff stretch.
Ajay Mitchell stepped up effectively during Williams’ six-game playoff absence, moving into the starting lineup and posting 21.2 points per game — the team’s second-highest average during that period, trailing only two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — while shooting 48% from the field.
Oklahoma City entered Monday with a 27-8 record when Williams was available this season, compared to 45-10 when he was not in the lineup.
