The Oklahoma City Thunder won their 11th straight game on Saturday against the Washington Wizards despite a scuffle that led to OKC losing Jaylin Williams, Ajay Mitchell, and Cason Wallace to ejection. Ajay Mitchell received a one-game suspension, which he will serve on Monday night as the Thunder plays the fourth game of a five-game East Coast road trip.
The good news on the roster front is that Jalen Williams has been removed from the injury report, and he will play for the first time since re-injuring a strained hamstring against the Phoenix Suns on February 11th. Williams has played in just 26 games this season after missing the first 19 of the season recovering from offseason wrist surgery and another 26 with a strained hamstring. With just 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Thunder could benefit greatly from what JDub brings on both ends of the floor.
The Sixers enter this game missing four of their regular starters, but they have played a good chunk of the season missing some variation of key players. Still, they currently sit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, and they are within striking distance of finishing in the top 6 to avoid the Play-In Round. VJ Edcecombe is one of the league’s top rookies, and while he’s an outside shot to win Rookie of the Year, he’s the most important player for Philadelphia right now. Stopping him will be key to the Thunder continuing their win streak.
Win streaks are nice, especially when they involve beating playoff teams, but entering the postseason healthy is the Thunder’s top priority. Still, OKC is just 3 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the West and 4.5 games ahead of the Detroit Pistons for the league’s best record. Locking down homecourt advantage through the playoffs would be nice.
The Thunder is deep enough to win games while resting players for the sake of health, but it’s better not to leave it up to chance. Right now, OKC simply needs to stay focused and keep doing what they do well—play through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on offense, lock down on defense, maintain poise and energy—and they should be able to leave Philly with another solid win.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
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: VJ Edgecombe
- SG: Quentin Grimes
- SF: Justin Edwards
- PF: Trendon Watford
- C: Adem Bona
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ajay Mitchell (league suspension) is OUT.
- Payton Sandfort (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
Sixers
- Dominick Barlow (sprained left ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Johnni Broome (right knee surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Joel Embiid (strained right oblique) is OUT.
- Paul George (league suspension) is OUT.
- Quentin Grimes (illness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Tyrese Maxey (strained right finger tendon) is OUT.
- Kelly Oubrey Jr. (sprained left elbow) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 24-9 against the Sixers (12-4 at home, 11-6 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Sixers 10 times, lost it 3 times, and tied 4 times.
- The Thunder went 2-0 against the 76ers last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- OKC is 1-0 against Philadelphia so far this season (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).