Down most of the starting lineup on Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder fared just fine against the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers. Since then, OKC has clinched the 1-seed in the Western Conference. With just 13 games to go and nothing to do for moving position in the standings, the Thunder could cruise into the postseason, but I don’t anticipate that happening. They get a chance to keep the pedal to the floor on Friday night as they host the Charlotte Hornets.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein are back after sitting out on Wednesday night, but after the way the bench played on Wednesday night, Shai and IHart may not be needed against a struggling Hornets squad. At 18-51, Charlotte is just a few losses away from official playoff elimination, and OKC is likely to send them on their way just a little bit closer to Summer Vacation.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
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: Cason Wallace
- SF: Aaron Wiggins
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Hornets
- PG: LaMelo Ball
- SG: Josh Green
- SF: DaQuan Jeffries
- PF: Miles Bridges
- C: Jusuf Nurkic
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng (strained left calf) is OUT.
- Luguentz Dort (right hip soreness) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (nasal fracture) is AVAILABLE.
- Ajay Mitchell (right great toe surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (strained right shoulder) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hip) is OUT.
Hornets
- Marcus Garrett (lower back soreness) is OUT.
- Tre Mann (disc herniation) is OUT.
- Brandon Miller (ligament repair in right wrist) is OUT.
- Josh Okogie (strained left hamstring) is OUT.
- Tidjane Salaun (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Grant Williams (right ACL repair) is OUT.
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).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 1-0 against the Hornets (0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the last 3 meetings with the Hornets.