The Oklahoma City Thunder escaped Memphis with a 118-112 win over the Grizzlies on Saturday, and despite the rough the game, the Thunder are trending in the right direction as the regular season continues to wind down. With just 15 games to go, OKC is healthy and winners of 12 of their last 15. The Thunder look to continue their success tonight as they host the ailing Utah Jazz.
Utah has had a roller coaster of a season which has been primarily dictated by the injury report. Despite success at times, the Jazz have had key players out due to injury for varying chunks of the season, and it has caught up to them as they have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
The last time these two teams met, the Thunder dropped a 124-117 decision to the Jazz in Utah behind a huge fourth quarter from Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen is out tonight, so OKC won’t have to worry about him, but this is still not a game that the Thunder should take lightly. OKC is a 15-point favorite, and while they should be able to cover that spread easily, they could be on the wrong end of an embarrassing result if they don’t take it seriously. Despite their youth, the Thunder have played with an air of maturity for most of the season, and continuing to play at a high level should be expected as we inch closer to the postseason.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Jazz
- PG: Keyontae George
- SG: Kris Dunn
- SF: Brice Sensabaugh
- PF: Taylor Hendricks
- C: John Collins
Injury Report
Thunder
- Adam Flagler is OUT (G League — two-way).
Jazz
- Darius Bazley is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Jordan Clarkson is OUT (strained right groin).
- John Collins is QUESTIONABLE (right facial contusion).
- Johnny Juzang is QUESTIONABLE (G League — two-way).
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. is OUT (G League — on assignment).
- Lauri Markkanen is OUT (right quadricep contusion; injury management).
- Micah Potter is QUESTIONABLE (G League — two-way).
- Jason Preston is QUESTIONABLE (G league — two-way).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 37-21 (23-6 at home, 14-15 on the road) against the Jazz in the regular season and 2-4 (2-1 at home, 0-3 on the road) in the playoffs.
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Jazz 12 times, lost it twice, and tied once.
- The Thunder went 3-1 against the Jazz last season (2-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- The Thunder are 2-1 against the Jazz so far this season (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).