The Oklahoma City Thunder continue preseason play on Wednesday evening as they host the Milwaukee Bucks in the second game of a back-to-back. This is the second of five preseason games that the Thunder will play before opening up the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, October 22nd.
OKC is coming off a 116-110 loss last night to the New Orleans Pelicans in Tulsa, and while the Thunder lost the game, they had plenty to celebrate by the time the final buzzer sounded. Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell, and Kenrich Williams played well in limited minutes, but it was the rookie pair of Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz that had people talking. Mara finished the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks in just 18 minutes of play, and Stirtz played a whopping 31 minutes on his way to 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Tonight’s game should feature OKC’s expected starting five for the upcoming season, at least to begin the game. With the departure of Luguentz Dort, it makes sense that Cason Wallace will slide into his spot, but nothing has been confirmed by head coach Mark Daigneault.
Milwaukee enters this game coming off a 116-97 loss on Monday to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bucks will have a very different look this season as they enter their post-Giannis era. With the new additions of Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez, Milwaukee has plenty of talent to go with their already existing roster, but they’re young and don’t exactly have chemistry together.
Tonight’s game should serve as a good opportunity for OKC’s stars to get a little bit of playing time in before letting the backups get some extended minutes before playing 3 preseason games in 4 days next week starting on Monday in Atlanta.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: Thunder+
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
X (formerly known as Twitter): Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Milwaukee Bucks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Bucks
- PG: Ryan Rollins
- SG: Tyler Herro
- SF: Jaime Jaquez
- PF: Kyle Kuzma
- C: Myles Turner
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Chet Holmgren (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Thomas Sorber (knee injury recovery) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Nikola Topic (back) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Cason Wallace (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Jalen Williams (rest) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Jaylin Williams (heel soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
Bucks
- NONE
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 18-17 against the Bucks in the regular season (9-8 at home, 9-9 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Bucks 5 times, lost it 4 times, and tied it 8 times.
- The Thunder went 1-1 against the Bucks last year (0-1 at home, 1-0 on the road).