The Thunder has released its injury report ahead of the upcoming matchup against the Nuggets on April 10. They have listed 10 players as unavailable for tomorrow after the Thunder secured the first seed in the West last night in their win over the Clippers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was set to go up against Nikola Jokic in an elite matchup of the two MVP frontrunners. But unfortunately, Gilgeous-Alexander has been ruled out for this fixture against the Nuggets due to his oblique injury management.
Chet Holmgren (back spasms), Jalen Williams (hamstring injury management), Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus injury management), Cason Wallace (toe soreness), Ajay Mitchell (ankle injury management), Alex Caruso (rest), Isaiah Joe (knee soreness), Jaylin Williams (Achilles tendinitis), and Thomas Sorber (torn ACL) are the other nine player who will not be available for the Thunder in this game.
Here’s what their potential starting lineup could look like tomorrow night:
PG: Jared McCain
SG: Aaron Wiggins
SF: Lu Dort
PF: Kenrich Williams
C: Branden Carlson
This seems like a giveaway game from the Thunder after dominating this matchup throughout the season. They have won all three of the previous meetings against the Nuggets this season, and with the first seed guaranteed now, they can afford to avoid taking the risk and will instead prefer to rest their players ahead of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, this is a must-win game for the Nuggets, who are currently thriving on a 10-game winning streak, in the race for the third seed in the West. If the Nuggets win this game, it will secure a home-court advantage for them in the playoffs as they will not fall below the fourth seed.
However, they could also be without their star players tomorrow night as all three of their primary scoring options: Nikola Jokic (right wrist injury management), Jamal Murray (right shoulder impingement), and Aaron Gordon (right hamstring injury management), have been listed as questionable to play for this game.
It is unlikely that Nikola Jokic will miss this game, as he is currently on 63 official games played this season (played 19 minutes in the game against the Heat, which will not be counted) and needs to play in both the remaining games to qualify for the 65-game rule.
Indeed, he can apply for the exception under extraordinary circumstances, as he has played over 62 games this season and only missed the threshold by one minute for his 64th game. But why would he want to depend on an arbitrator’s decision unless he is suffering from a serious injury and is completely unable to play?
Therefore, Jokic will have to go through a tedious process if he misses out on tomorrow’s game and still wants to be eligible for postseason awards like the MVP. But Gilgeous-Alexander, who has already earned his eligibility, can afford to sit out this game and tend to his injuries.
Nine of these players were fit to play in the Thunder’s last game against the Clippers. But considering that this game is not on national TV, the Thunder will likely dodge any scrutiny from the league for their decision to sideline a significant portion of their roster for tomorrow night.
