The Oklahoma City Thunder wraps up the regular season on Sunday night, hosting the Phoenix Suns. With both teams locked into their respective playoff positions, neither will have regular rotations, as nearly half of each roster is resting ahead of the first round of the playoffs.
The Thunder rested its guys on Friday night in Denver, which ended in a 127-107 loss, but with the best record in the league locked up, winning a regular-season game isn’t nearly as big a concern as being healthy headed into the playoffs. Still, you never know what can happen when young players who don’t see the court as much get a chance to shine.
Because tonight’s game literally does not affect the standings whatsoever, don’t be surprised if both teams come out playing particularly hard. End-of-rotation guys are still trying to prove why they deserve minutes in the Playoffs, and 2-way players are playing their final game of the season. Even though there won’t be much star power in this game, it should make for a competitive game with an opportunity for an unlikely source to have a big night.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 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, Phoenix Suns Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Nikola Topic
- SG: Jared McCain
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Aaron Wiggins
- C: Branden Carlson
Suns
- PG: Jamaree Bouyea
- SG: Amir Coffey
- SF: Rasheer Fleming
- PF: Ryan Dunn
- C: Khaman Maluach
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (rest) is OUT.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right oblique injury management) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (left soleus injury management) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (lower back spasms) is OUT.
- Isaiah Joe (knee soreness) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (left ankle injury management) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (left great toe soreness) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right hamstring injury management) is OUT.
- Jaylin Williams (right Achilles tendinitis) is OUT.
Suns
- Grayson Allen (left hamstring soreness) is OUT.
- Devin Booker (right ankle injury management) is OUT.
- Dillon Brooks (left 2nd metacarpal injury management) is OUT.
- Collin Gillespie (right shoulder contusion) is OUT.
- Jordan Goodwin (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- Jalen Green (right knee soreness) is OUT.
- Haywood Highsmith (right knee injury management) is AVAILABLE.
- Royce O’Neale (left knee injury management) is OUT.
- Mark Williams (left foot injury management) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 39-20 against the Suns (22-6 at home, 17-14 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Suns 10 times, tied once, and lost 5 times.
- The Thunder went 3-0 against the Suns last season (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- OKC is 3-1 against Phoenix so far this season (2-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).