The Thunder are coming off a 100-87 win over the Mavericks and are set to face the Bulls in their next game on Tuesday night (March 3). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who recently returned after missing nine games due to an abdominal strain, has once again been ruled out for their upcoming contest.
Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain injury management) joins six other Thunder players listed in their recent injury report after stuffing the box score in the last game. He dropped 30 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals while shooting 12-20 from the field (60.0 FG%) and 1-5 from beyond the arc (20.0 3P%).
The other six players on that list are Jalen Williams (hamstring strain), Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus injury management), Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain, ankle sprain), Branden Carlson (back strain), Nikola Topic (G League assignment), and Thomas Sorber (torn ACL).
This game will be the tenth game he has missed all season, leaving him with seven more potential games he can miss before risking his eligibility for the postseason awards.
He is currently in the race with Cade Cunningham and Nikola Jokic as the top three favorites to compete for the Michael Jordan MVP award at the end of the season. But since Jokic is only one game away from being ineligible to compete, it could realistically come down to Gilgeous-Alexander and Cunningham.
He is currently averaging 31.8 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 51 games played this season. He shot 55.1% from the field, 38.1% from beyond the arc, and 89.2% from the free-throw line. Such numbers definitely put him in the discussion of still being the best player in the league after having both the MVP awards (regular season and Finals MVP) last year.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs (43-17) are currently breathing down the necks of the Thunder as Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence led to a skid in the defending champions’ form.
Meanwhile, the Thunder improved to 47-15 following their win against the Mavericks. They became the first team to guarantee a spot in the playoffs this season.
Considering that this is only the management of his previous injury, it should not mean an extended absence for Gilgeous-Alexander once again. The Thunder have back-to-back games next and will face the Knicks one day after facing the Bulls tomorrow.
Thus, it is likely that he will only miss one of those two games and be back for the Knicks game. He would likely not miss more than two games over injury management, and hence, he could even return against the Warriors on Saturday.
