Tip-Off: 3 PM CT
Location: The Arena WWOS (Orlando, Florida)
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma, NBA TV
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder (41-24) got off to a fantastic start in the bubble as they dominated the Utah Jazz (42-24) from start to finish on Saturday afternoon, resulting in a 110-94 victory. Monday’s matchup could be a similar outcome.
Next up for the Thunder is a contest against division rival the Denver Nuggets (43-23). The Nuggets are dealing with a number of injuries in their backcourt, particularly starters Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and Gary Harris.
Meanwhile, OKC looks like one of the most put together teams in the bubble. Their defense on Saturday stifled even the Jazz’s best players, and it will certainly be the key to victory moving forward.
The Thunder’s defensive focus against the Nuggets should be containing superstar Nikola Jokić, who is proficient at every aspect of the offensive side of the ball. Offensively, OKC needs to take care of the ball and continue to look for one another.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Danilo Gallinari
- C: Steven Adams
Nuggets
- PG: Monte Morris
- SG: Torrey Craig
- SF: Michael Porter Jr.
- PF: Paul Millsap
- C: Nikola Jokić
Injuries
Thunder
- NONE
Nuggets
- Will Barton (left knee soreness) is OUT.
- Vlatko Cancar (left foot fracture) is OUT.
- Gary Harris (right hip muscle strain) is OUT.
- Jamal Murray (left hamstring tightness) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-23 against the Nuggets (15-9 at home, 7-14 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Nuggets 6 times and lost it 5 times.
- The Thunder went 0-4 (0-2 at home, 0-2 on the road) against the Nuggets last season.
- The Thunder has lost 9 of the last 11 matchups against the Nuggets.
- The Thunder is 1-1 (1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road) against the Nuggets so far this season.
Game Notes
Be sure to follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and like us on Facebook.