Going into the Second Round of the Western Conference Playoffs Tuesday night against the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champion and No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder will likely still be without one of their stars and offensive engines in Jalen Williams. After being without him for the final two games of a first-round sweep over the Phoenix Suns, the players poised to step up have already been discovered.

One of those in the series-clincher was All-Defensive Team-hopeful Cason Wallace, who found his offensive rhythm, scoring 10 points while knocking down two 3-pointers.…