Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Chase Center (San Francisco, California)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder trailed by double digits for most of their matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday evening, but they managed to make it a close one before falling at home 103-99. Tonight, the Thunder kicks off a 4-game road trip, which features an interesting schedule quirk where OKC plays the Golden State Warriors twice in a row before playing the Sacramento Kings twice in a row. Tonight’s matchup with the Warriors may seem to be of little consequence at face value, but in reality, there is a lot riding on the result.
Golden State currently sits at 9th in the Western Conference, a half game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8th spot, but a game-and-a-half ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for 10th. With it being so close to the end of the season, the Warriors are all but guaranteed a spot in the play-in tournament for the NBA Playoffs, but they need all the help they can get.
Meanwhile, the Thunder’s tank is still going strong. OKC is tied with Cleveland and Orlando for the 4th-worst record in the league, and with just 6 games left, OKC could still fall even lower. At this point, it’s safe to say that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will not see the floor for the rest of the season due to his injury, and with no real benefit to winning games, we just need to make it to the finish line and continue the building process for the future.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Théo Maledon
- SG: Kenrich Williams
- SF: Darius Bazley
- PF: Isaiah Roby
- C: Moses Brown
Warriors
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Kent Bazemore
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
Injuries
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort is QUESTIONABLE (strained right hip).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is OUT (plantar fasciitis in right foot).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (right ankle sprain).
- Aleksej Pokuševski is OUT (left knee contusion).
Warriors
- Draymond Green is PROBABLE
- Damion Lee is OUT
- Kelly Oubre is OUT
- Eric Paschall is OUT
- Klay Thompson is OUT
- James Wiseman is OUT
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-21 against the Warriors in the regular season (14-8 at home, 8-13 on the road) and 3-4 in the playoffs (2-1 at home, 1-3 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Warriors 6 times, lost it 4 times, and tied twice.
- The Thunder went 3-0 against the Warriors last season (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-1 against the Warriors so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).