The Oklahoma City Thunder is back at home on Tuesday night, hosting Paolo Banchero and the visiting Orlando Magic. Coming off a big win in Denver on Sunday night, the Thunder looks to put together a winning streak, but to do so, they will have to do it shorthanded.
OKC has dealt with a lengthy injury report for most of the season so far, but tonight’s list is about as long as it has been in quite some time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams are all listed as questionable after playing just two nights ago, and that’s not to mention the usual suspects. It wouldn’t be shocking to see any—if not all—of them sit because tomorrow night the team takes on the Spurs in San Antonio in the second game of a back-to-back.
Still, the Thunder is favored tonight over the Magic, and that could be for a few reasons. First off, OKC has great depth. Even when missing key players, the Thunder faithful rally behind whoever is on the court, willing them to victory more often than not. Add to it that Orlando—sitting at 25-23 and 10th in the Eastern Conference—has had an underwhelming season for a team that was considered a preseason contender in the East.
Orlando will be without their top scorer Franz Wagner, but OKC could be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Magic still have Paolo Banchero, though, who will be a tough defensive matchup for Luguentz Dort, but if the Thunder can continue their hot shooting from Sunday night, they should be able to give Orlando plenty of trouble and get OKC another win.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 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, Orlando Magic Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Magic
- PG: Jalen Suggs
- SG: Anthony Black
- SF: Desmond Bane
- PF: Paolo Banchero
- C: Wendell Carter Jr.
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained right adductor) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (sprained right index finger) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus injury management) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Chet Holmgren (low back spasms) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Ajay Mitchell (strained abdominal) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (left shoulder contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
Magic
- Colin Castleton (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Franz Wagner ( left high ankle sprain injury management) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 23-10 against the Magic in the regular season (13-3 at home, 10-7 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Magic 7 times, lost it once, and tied it 8 times.
- The Thunder went 2-0 against the Magic last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder has won the last 4 meetings with the Magic at the Paycom Center.