The Oklahoma City Thunder has an opportunity at a new franchise-best start to a season on Tuesday night as they take on the LA Clippers in the first contest of a four-game road trip. The Thunder sits alone at the top of the NBA standings with a perfect 7-0 record after a dominant win on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Clippers are coming off a 120-119 loss to the Miami Heat last night.
The Thunder has already dealt with a number of key injuries, and while the offense has struggled—particularly at shooting from beyond the arc—reigning MVP Shai Gileous-Alexander hasn’t missed a beat. Isaiah Hartenstein has been a consistent force in the paint, particularly in Chet Holmgren’s absence, and Ajay Mitchell has more than gotten the job done as the primary ball handler off the bench. Holmgren is back in action tonight after sitting out a few games with a back injury, but Ajay Mitchell is a game-time decision. Still, OKC’s depth is good enough to pick up the slack, regardless of who is out.
The Clippers have not looked great through six games, and now they have their toughest test so far coming off a tight game last night. Before last night’s game, Kawhi Leonard said he would be playing in both games after sitting out most back-to-back games for several seasons now, so it will be interesting to see how he holds up on such a short turnaround.
OKC is favored, but the Clippers tout one of the league’s top defenses. The Thunder has come out on top despite poor shooting through most of the first 7 games, but tonight might require some more of those shots to go down. If OKC can get hot from deep like they did against New Orleans on Sunday, they’ve got a good shot to win this one comfortably.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 10 PM CT
Location: Intuit Dome (Inglewood, California)
Television: NBC/Peacock
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, LA Clippers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Clippers
- PG: James Harden
- SG: Bradley Beal
- SF: Kawhi Leonard
- PF: Derrick Jones Jr.
- C: Ivica Zubac
Injury Report
Thunder
- Luguentz Dort (illness) is AVAILABLE.
- Ajay Mitchell (bilateral gluteal contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right wrist surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (sprained left shoulder) is AVAILABLE.
- Kenrich Williams (left knee surgical recovery) is OUT.
Clippers
- Bradley Beal (right knee injury management) is OUT.
- Kawhi Leonard (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Jordan Miller (strained left hamstring) is OUT.
- Kobe Sanders (sprained right knee) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 34-27 against the Clippers (23-8 at home, 11-19 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Clippers 7 times, tied 4 times, and lost 6 times.
- The Thunder went 4-0 against the Clippers last season (2-0 at home, 2-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won 8 consecutive games against the Clippers in LA.