Tip-Off: 8 PM CT
Location: Ball Arena (Denver, Colorado)
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
Just two days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder saw another one of their games be postponed as a result of covid-19 contact tracing within the 76ers. After a couple of extra days between games, the Thunder now kicks off a 5-game road trip starting in Denver against the Nuggets.
After falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets have had a bit of a disappointing start to the season so far as they sit at 6-7, sitting one spot below the Thunder in the Western Conference standings.
Denver is an extremely talented team, and as they work out the kinks, a matchup with the Thunder is one that favors the Nuggets primarily because of Nikola Jokić. Jokić is an incredible big man who puts in work in the post, whether it be with his scoring repertoire or his incredible passing skills. His 10.3 assists per game leads the league right now, and with 25.0 points per game, he’s tied with Joel Embiid at 11th in the NBA in scoring.
Despite being one of the top offensive teams in the NBA, Denver is not a very good defensive team, so perhaps OKC’s offense can get something going and make this a game.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: George Hill
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Isaiah Roby
Nuggets
- PG: Jamal Murray
- SG: Gary Harris
- SF: Will Barton
- PF: Paul Millsap
- C: Nikola Jokic
Injuries
Thunder
- Trevor Ariza is OUT (not with team).
- Al Horford is OUT (personal reasons).
- Ty Jerome is OUT (sprained left ankle).
Nuggets
- Michael Porter is OUT (health and safety protocols).
- Greg Whittington is OUT (knee).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-24 against the Nuggets (15-10 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 6 times.
- The Thunder went 1-2 (1-1 at home, 0-1 on the road) against the Nuggets last season.
- The Thunder has lost 10 of the last 12 matchups against the Nuggets.