The slide continues for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they may get a chance to pick up a win tonight as they host the banged up Chicago Bulls. At 28-17, the Bulls are third in the Eastern Conference standings, but their injury report is a long one, and they could confirm even more guys out before tip-off.
After a couple of blowout losses on the road, the Thunder capped a 4-game road trip with a close loss at Cleveland against the Cavaliers. Luguentz Dort was ejected due to a flagrant 2 call in the fourth quarter, and had he not been forced to leave, the final score would have likely been even closer. Regardless, the team got back to playing some quality defense, and that needs to be the focus tonight against the Bulls, who tout a solid offense.
DeMar DeRozan is the man for Chicago, and despite a couple of quieter seasons in San Antonio, DeRozan has been making plenty of noise so far this season. In 42 games played so far, DeRozan is averaging 26.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. Regardless of who else is healthy for Chicago, the Thunder needs to lock down DeRozan and keep him from going off. If they can manage that, then they might have a chance to pull out a win.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Aaron Wiggins
- SF: Josh Giddey
- PF: Luguentz Dort
- C: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Bulls
- PG: Coby White
- SG: Zach Lavine
- SF: Javonte Green
- PF: DeMar DeRozan
- C: Nikola Vucevic
Injuries
Thunder
- Derrick Favors is OUT (sore lower back).
- Vit Krejci is OUT (sprained right ankle).
- Theo Maledon is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Paul Watson is OUT (G League – two-way).
Bulls
- Lonzo Ball is OUT (left knee bone contusion).
- Alex Caruso is OUT (fractured right wrist).
- Javonte Green is QUESTIONABLE (strained right adductor).
- Derrick Jones Jr. is OUT (hyperextended right knee).
- Zach Lavine is QUESTIONABLE (sore left knee).
- Marko Simonivic is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Nikola Vucevic is QUESTIONABLE (left patella contusion).
- Patrick Williams is OUT (ligament tear in left wrist).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 16-9 against the Bulls (9-4 at home, 7-5 away).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Bulls 5 times, lost it once, and tied 7 times.
- The Thunder tied the season series against the Bulls a year ago (1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).