Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Golden 1 Center (Sacramento, California)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
For the third time in 8 days, the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Sacramento Kings this evening for the Thunder’s final road game of the season. Despite the Kings sitting at 12th in the Western Conference and the Thunder at 13th in the Western Conference, the two teams have very different motives headed into tonight’s matchup.
The Thunder was eliminated from playoff contention a while ago, and at this point, only losses can really help them in the future. The Kings, however, are still technically capable of making the play-in tournament for the playoffs, but in order to do so, they need to win out, and some teams ahead of them need to lose out. All Sacramento can do is focus on winning and hope everything else shakes out in their favor.
This has been a long and brutal season for Oklahoma City, particularly for Thunder fans who haven’t bought in on the tank season. The good news is that the season is almost over. The bad news is that the stress and anxiety won’t go away any time soon with the draft lottery not taking place until June 22nd, so we won’t even know where our picks fall for over a month. Still, you have to like OKC’s odds to get at least one solid pick, so perhaps the rebuild won’t take as long as some people think it will.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Ty Jerome
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Aleksej Pokuševski
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Moses Brown
Kings
- PG: Delon Wright
- SG: Buddy Hield
- SF: Maurice Harkless
- PF: Marvin Bagley III
- C: Richaun Holmes
Injuries
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort is QUESTIONABLE (patellar tendinitis in right knee).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is OUT (plantar fasciitis in right foot).
- Ty Jerome is QUESTIONABLE (strained left calf).
- Theo Maledon is OUT (plantar fasciitis in left foot).
- Mike Muscala is OUT (right ankle sprain).
Kings
- Harrison Barnes is DOUBTFUL (left adductor tightness).
- De’Aaron Fox is OUT (health and safety protocols).
- Tyrese Haliburton is OUT (hyperextended left knee).
- Buddy Hield is PROBABLE (sprained left ankle).
- Robert Woodard II is OUT (sore lower back).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 32-14 against the Kings (18-4 at home, 14-10 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the regular season series against the Kings 10 times, lost it once, and tied it once.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Kings last season (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-2 against the Kings so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).