It’s an interconference battle on the hardwood between teams in position for the play-in tournament in their respective conferences north of the border. The Thunder are on the road as they make the trip to face the Raptors on Thursday night.
Injury update for Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors
On Tuesday night, Oklahoma City beat Brooklyn 121-107 at home, and Toronto beat Denver 125-110.
The Thunder have won 32 of the 50 regular-season games between the two teams. The first game of this season, on November 11, 2022, was a 132-113 home win for the Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Nets at home on Tuesday night to get their third straight win and sixth in the last seven games.
With the win, their record went from 34-35 to 34-35. They were in third place in the Northwest Division, 12 games behind the Nuggets, who were in first place. They were in eighth place in the Western Conference, 12 games behind Denver for first place, two games behind the Clippers for the last guaranteed playoff spot, and one game ahead of Utah to stay in the playoff picture.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen) had 35 points (12-24 FG, 1-0 3Pt, 10-12 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal in the 121-107 win over Brooklyn on Tuesday. He played 36 minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander came back from a one-game break and continued to dominate. He has now scored 30 or more points in all four games he has played this month.
Up until the end of the season, Gilgeous-workload Alexander’s is likely to be closely watched. However, he has shown this season that he has become one of the best scoring guards in the league, averaging 31.3 points in 58 games.
For injury: Chet Holmgren won’t be able to play this season because he hurt his Lisfranc during a pro-am event in the summer. Pokusevski (ankle) hasn’t played since December 27. He had surgery, but there’s still no timetable for when he’ll be back. Kenrich Williams will not play again this season because he tore a ligament in his wrist.
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In their last game, which was Tuesday night, Toronto beat the Nuggets, who were first in the Western Conference. The Raptors had a record of 33–36 going into Wednesday. They were in last place in the Atlantic Division, 14 games behind the Celtics, who were in first place.
They were ninth in the Eastern Conference, six games behind the Nets for the last guaranteed spot, and one game ahead of the Bulls to stay in the play-in tournament.
During Tuesday’s 125-110 win over Denver, Fred VanVleet had 36 points (13-22 FG, 8-12 3Pt, 2-3 FT), 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in 38 minutes.
The eight three-point shots were VanVleet’s most this season. He has scored at least 30 points eight times this season. After scoring only eight points against the Lakers on Friday, VanVleet carried the Raptors to a much-needed win.
Even though many people might think VanVleet has had a bad season, on a per-game basis, he has been in the top 25 in nine-category leagues.
Health is still a problem, and at this point, managers can only cross their fingers and hope he can stay on the court for the rest of the season.
For injury: Otto Porter Jr. has been out since November 14. In January, he had foot surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Banton hasn’t played since February 26 because he hurt his thumb. He has missed the last seven games.
