Just a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like they were on the brink of tanking the rest of the season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was out for a string of games, and the Thunder had lost 5 straight. OKC got back in the win column on Friday night with a blowout against the Utah Jazz, and then they did something on Sunday against the Jazz again.
Since then, head coach Mark Daigneault has commented on SGA’s abdominal strain, making it clear that if it were earlier in the season, Shai would be resting. However, with just a little over a month of the season remaining, every game matters, so they will be very strategic about how to play him. That sounds an awful lot like the Thunder wants to win and try to make the playoffs.
Regardless of what the end goal is, OKC must take each game as they come, and Tuesday night is a big one as the Thunder hosts the Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry recently returned from injury for the Warriors, and at 34-31 on the season, Golden State currently sits at 5th place in the West. While they have a chance to possibly move up to 4th place, it’s not likely they will get much higher. They are just 3.5 games ahead of the Thunder, who are in 13th, however, so plenty of movement could take place in this last stretch of the season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked brilliant in his return on Sunday, and he will likely need a similar performance if OKC is to grab a third win in a row. The Warriors have had the Thunder’s number for a while now, winning both meetings this season and the last 8 overall. Getting a win tonight would go a long way for OKC in their playoff pursuit.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Golden State Warriors Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Jaylin Williams
Warriors
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: Dante DiVincenzo
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
Injury Report
Thunder
- Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (left tibial plateau; non-displaced fracture).
- Jalen Williams is QUESTIONABLE (sprained right wrist).
- Kenrich Williams is OUT (scapholunate ligament rupture in left wrist).
Warriors
- Draymond Green is PROBABLE (left hand soreness)
- Andre Iguodala is PROBABLE (right hip soreness).
- Gary Payton II is OUT (right adductor soreness).
- Ryan Rollins is OUT (right foot soreness).
- Andrew Wiggins is OUT (personal reasons).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 22-28 against the Warriors in the regular season (14-11 at home, 8-17 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 6 times, and tied twice.
- The Thunder went 0-3 against the Warriors last season (0-2 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 0-2 against the Warriors so far this season (0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder hast lost 8 consecutive games against the Warriors, including 4 straight in Oklahoma City.