After a historic start to the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder is in an odd position as they have lost 4 of their last 6 games, 3 of those losses at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. The talk of breaking the regular-season wins record has ended, and now the conversation has shifted to whether OKC should even be considered a favorite to repeat as champions or just another contender amongst contenders.
While recency bias has everyone feeling some type of way about the current state of the Thunder, the full picture cannot be forgotten. OKC has dominated for a giant chunk of the season so far, and they are an experienced team that has been through their share of ups and downs. Championship teams turn losses into lessons, and they have done that time and time again. Sunday afternoon offers another opportunity to prove that a lesson has been learned as the Thunder hosts the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers have fought their way to a 16-13 record so far, dealing with plenty of injuries along the way. They’ve struggled with teams above .500, winning just 6 of 16 against teams with a winning record, while the Thunder has gone 10-5 against teams with above .500. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they will be without Joel Embiid in this one, while the Thunder is about as healthy as they have been in a while.
“Winning fixes everything” is an age-old saying, and a win against the Sixers won’t erase the fact that OKC has looked pretty rough the last couple of weeks. However, it will definitely move the Thunder in a good direction, and if anything, it will offer some momentum ahead of a tough schedule.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 2:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: FanDuel Sports Network 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, Philadelphia 76ers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
76ers
- PG: Tyrese Maxey
- SG: VJ Edgecombe
- SF: Paul George
- PF: Dominick Barlow
- C: Andre Drummond
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ousmane Dieng (strained right calf) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (right heel bursitis) is OUT.
Sixers
- MarJon Beachamp (G League — two-way) is DOUBTFUL.
- Johni Broome (G League — on assignment) is DOUBTFUL.
- Joel Embiid (sprained right ankle and right knee injury management) is OUT.
- Paul George (left knee injury management) is PROBABLE.
- Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee) is OUT.
- Trendon Watford (strained left adductor) is OUT.