A lot can change in a week. After a 4-0 start to the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now 4-2, dropping 2 of 3 games since losing Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to injury last Sunday. Since then, Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso have been added to the list of extended time missed, and OKC has yet to figure things out.
Tonight, the Thunder take on the Cavs in Cleveland for the first of two meetings between the two teams over the next three evenings. Cleveland is a small favorite over OKC, and even though the Thunder carry back-to-back blowout losses into the matchup, it appears that the sportsbooks have yet to give up on them.
The Cavaliers are 4-2 and come off a 136-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Cleveland racked up 41 assists on their way to knocking down 20 threes, an area where OKC has struggled to defend. While I don’t anticipate the Thunder being down in the doldrums for too long, I do think the current stretch is a difficult one. The Cavs have one of the league’s top offenses right now, so this doesn’t feel like a great opportunity to get back on track.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still hasn’t had an explosive game, though, and that might be necessary tonight for the Thunder to have a chance. So far, the Thunder offense has not lived up to the reputation of recent seasons, and with so many guys out, that was bound to happen. Couple that with poor shooting percentages, and the blowout losses start to add up. Win or lose tonight, OKC needs to take a step forward and figure out a way to compete.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 6 PM CT
Location: Rocket Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)
Television: Peacock
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, Cleveland Cavaliers Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Jared McCain
- SF: Ajay Mitchell
- PF: Kenrich Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Cavaliers
- PG: James Harden
- SG: Donovan Mitchell
- SF: Peyton Watson
- PF: Evan Mobley
- C: Jarrett Allen
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (right knee patellar tendinitis) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (low back surgery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (left shoulder labral tear) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (left ankle fracture) is OUT.
Cavaliers
- Khalifa Diop (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Nae’Qwan Tomlin (lower back stress reaction) is OUT.
- Jaylon Tyson (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Ernest Udeh Jr. (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Peyton Watson (right hamstring tightness/soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 18-16 against the Cavs (10-8 at home, 8-8 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Cavs 5 times, lost 5 times, and tied 8 times.
- Last season, the Thunder won the season series with the Cavs 2-0 (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).