The Oklahoma City Thunder (7-2) host the Washington Wizards (4-5) tonight in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams. Last night, the Thunder easily cruised past the Grizzlies in Memphis 128-97, while the Wizards fell to the Hawks in Atlanta 139-132.
The storyline for OKC so far this season has been the wild string of injuries, while the Wizards are playing with a lot of new faces. Anthony Davis leads Washington in scoring with 23.4 points per game, but he is questionable for tonight with a sprained ankle. Trae Young is nearly averaging a double-double with 20.0 points and 9.6 assists per game. Kyshawn George continues to improve in his third year with the Wizards, and he is putting up 19.0 points, 5.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Finally, rookie AJ Dybantsa is off to a solid start with 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
Washington is a middle-of-the-road team in terms of offensive and defensive rating, but based on preseason expectations, they’re doing just fine. They have struggled shooting the ball from downtown, but last night against Atlanta, they knocked down 18-of-34 (52.9%) threes. That’s an area the Thunder defense will need to limit.
OKC’s defense hasn’t been quite as stout as it has been the last couple of seasons, which makes sense considering who all they have lost to injury, but they’re still trending towards the top of the league. The Wizards aren’t quite as good at taking care of the ball as the Thunder—14.8 turnovers per game to OKC’s 13.2—but they’re still solid. OKC has played their best when they have controlled the chaos on the defensive end, forcing turnovers, and converting them into points in transition. Look to the home crowd to give the Thunder an extra boost of momentum to lock in and play tough defense.
Washington would really like to get back to .500 this early in the season, but OKC is playing as if they can still compete with anybody, even if they are shorthanded. This is the type of game that could come back to bite the Thunder, so getting off to a strong start will be key to adding another W to the schedule.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center
Television: Thunder+, KSBI OKC, KQCW Tulsa
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, Washington Wizards Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Ajay Mitchell
- SF: Alex Caruso
- PF: Kenrich Williams
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Wizards
- PG: Trae Young
- SG: AJ Dybantsa
- SF: Kyshawn George
- PF: Alex Sarr
- C: Deandre Ayton
Injury Report
Thunder
- 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.
- Jaylin Williams (lower back spasms) is OUT
Wizards
- Reece Beekman (right AC joint injury) is OUT.
- Justin Champagnie (right foot surgery) is OUT.
- Anthony Davis (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Felix Okpara (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Tristan Vukcevic (left hip impingement) is OUT.
- Jamir Watkins (left ACL repair surgery) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 21-12 against the Wizards (12-4 at home, 9-8 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series with the Wizards 8 times, lost it 3 times, and tied 7 times.
- The Thunder won the season series 2-0 against the Wizards last season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- OKC has won 7 straight against Washington, including 4 in a row at the Paycom Center.