The Oklahoma City Thunder finished out a quick 2-game road trip in Charlotte against the Hornets on Saturday night, and they will do so without the help of Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace, who are both sitting out with injuries. In all likelihood, the two are probably just resting some bumps and bruises ahead of a tough home matchup on Sunday night with the Memphis Grizzlies. Still, losing your top two perimeter defenders changes the way you play, and the Thunder will need to properly adjust, even if it is against a lesser opponent like the Hornets.
Charlotte is led by LaMelo Ball, one of the league’s top scorers averaging 30.1 points per game, but the Hornets are just 7-23 on the season and have lost 6 in a row. Ball is listed as questionable for tonight’s game alongside Brandon Miller, Charlotte’s second-leading scorer. If the Hornets are missing both or even one of those guys, they could struggle to put up points as they average just 106.5 points per game as a team.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 5 PM CT
Location: Spectrum Center (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Television: FanDuel TV
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, Charlotte Hornets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Isaiah Joe
- SF: Aaron Wiggins
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Hornets
- PG: Vasilije Micic
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Josh Green
- PF: Miles Bridges
- C: Mark Williams
Injury Report
Thunder
- Branden Carlson (concussion protocol) is OUT.
- Alex Caruso (strained left hip) is OUT.
- Luguentz Dort (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Adam Flagler (G League —two-way) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (fractured right iliac wing) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (sprained left knee) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (left quad contusion) is OUT.
Hornets
- LaMelo Ball (left ankle and right wrist soreness) is OUT.
- Tre Mann (disc irritation) is OUT.
- Cody Martin (left knee soreness) is OUT.
- Brandon Miller (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- KJ Simpson (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Nick Smith Jr. (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Grant Williams (right ACL tear) is OUT.
- Mark Williams (left thumb soreness) is AVAILABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 20-10 against the Hornets (10-5 at home, 10-5 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the regular season series against the Hornets 8 times, lost it 3 times, and tied it 5 times.
- The Thunder went 2-0 against the Hornets last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).