The Oklahoma City Thunder are feeling the weight of playing without their reigning MVP. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his second consecutive game on Saturday against the Houston Rockets, and despite leading by double digits at one point, the Thunder was able to hold on for a victory in front of the home crowd. Houston led late, and despite the Thunder’s best efforts at recovering a lead, they fell just short in a 112-106 decision for the Rockets.
Now the Thunder travels to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers, who are also missing their best scorer, Luka Doncic. On the bright side, OKC is getting Jalen Williams back in the lineup after missing 10 games due to a strained hamstring. Williams could be playing with a minutes restriction, but it makes sense that the Thunder would not let him return without being confident in his health, as they are in no rush to return players, especially at further risk of injury.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to miss at least through the All-Star Break, when he will be re-evaluated. For now, the Thunder has a strong hold on the top seed in the Western Conference, sitting at 3.5 games ahead of the second-place San Antonio Spurs, but if they were to lose their spot, or even end in a tie, the Spurs hold the tiebreaker after winning 4 of the 5 meetings in the regular season.
OKC has a chance to get back in the win column after two consecutive losses as they take on the Lakers tonight. Los Angeles is on a 3-game win streak, and despite missing SGA, the Thunder matches up well with LA. OKC’s defense is still solid all-around, and as they have gradually gotten healthier over the last week, they have much more depth than the Lakers.
On Saturday, OKC fell apart late and couldn’t finish on a high note. Perhaps the return of Jalen Williams will offer some stability. Despite his somewhat inconsistent play in the games that he’s been available in thus far this season, he is still a solid threat, and he tends to rise to the occasion when playing without Shai. If JDub can play at even a decent level, expect opportunities for Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to open up down low. Add to it that OKC’s backcourt was dangerous against the Lakers’ mediocre defense in the first meeting earlier this season, and this feels like a great opportunity for the Thunder to pick up a good win, despite playing without their MVP.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, California)
Television: ESPN
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, Los Angeles Lakers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Cason Wallace
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Lakers
- PG: Marcus Smart
- SG: Jake LaRavia
- SF: LeBron James
- PF: Rui Hachimura
- C: Deandre Ayton
Injury Report
Thunder
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (strained abdominal) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (strained abdominal) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
Lakers
- Deandre Ayton (right knee soreness) is PROBABLE.
- Luka Doncic (strained left hamstring) is OUT.
- Adou Theiro (sprained right MCL) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 31-29 against the Lakers (17-13 at home, 14-16 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Lakers 8 times, lost 7 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Lakers last season (1-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-0 against the Lakers so far this season (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).