Zach Lowe shifts title odds toward Spurs after unfortunate Jalen Williams injury

After potential season-ending injuries to Oklahoma City Thunder players Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams, The Ringer's Zach Lowe recently updated his championship odds in the San Antonio Spurs' favor. Obviously, facing the Thunder at less than full strength isn't how the Spurs should want to return to the NBA Finals.

However, the Thunder may be without both of their starters for the rest of the season. As a result, Lowe went from previously picking the Thunder to beat the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals and to win the championship to giving them a 10% chance of winning it all.

If that is ultimately the case, then San Antonio's path to the Finals could be much easier. Of course, San Antonio would probably prefer to face teams at full strength to test themselves, but that may not be the case this season.

Zach Lowe shifts title odds toward Spurs after Jalen Williams' injury

The Western Conference has been particularly hard hit with injuries. If the Spurs can stay somewhat healthy, that could make a trip back to the NBA Finals more realistic.

Lowe shifting his odds away from OKC suggests that he now favors the Spurs. Despite that, San Antonio still has a lot of work to do after moving away from the starting lineup that made their NBA Finals run last season possible.

The hope is that their 3-point guard lineup featuring De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vasell, and Victor Wembanyama will be far better than before.

That may very well be the case, though the Thunder dominated that starting lineup at full strength. Without Wallace and Williams, the Spurs have a clear advantage over OKC and the rest of the field.

The Spurs have the potential to be far better this season

The Thunder still pose a threat to the Spurs, but if the Silver and Black can crack the point guard trio, then they could be the best team in the NBA bar none.

We are already seeing glimpses of how that lineup can work, with Fox taking on more playmaking responsibilities and thriving as a shot creator while Castle has developed into a high-volume 3-point shooter.

Harper, not to be outdone, is averaging 18.2 points and 5.2 rebounds through the team's first four games. If the Spurs can get around 55 points and 15 assists from that point guard trio per game, then that would make this team a nightmare to stop.

That wouldn't even include Wembanyama, who is now averaging 25 points per game following an awful opening night performance. San Antonio could still be the best team in the West if the Thunder were healthy, but unfortunately we won't know for sure this season.

Hopefully, the Thunder will make a trade to put themselves back into title contention, giving the Spurs a chance to face them again in a Western Conference Finals rematch. However, the Spurs may ultimately be the better team this season.

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