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Thunder @ Denver Nuggets preview (Game 81 of 82)

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma City Thunder (64-16, 1st in the West) vs. Denver Nuggets (52-28, 3rd in the West)
When: Friday, 10 April 2026 at 8:00pm CST
Where: Ball Arena in Denver, CO
TV: FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: DEN: 121.1 (1st) / OKC: 117.9 (7th)
Defensive Rating: DEN: 116.2 (21st) / OKC: 105.9 (1st)
Net Rating: DEN: 4.9 (8th) / OKC: 12.0 (1st)
Current Streaks: DEN: Winners of 10 straight / OKC: Winners of 7 straight

The Tip-Off

Dictating terms. It’s such a great position to be in for the final two games of the season. With home-court advantage throughout the playoffs wrapped up after Game 80, the Thunder are now in position to do whatever they want for these last two games of the season. And so, they will. Entering tonight’s game against Denver, the Thunder have chosen to sit most of their rotational pieces in order to, not only protect their health, but also to put Denver in position to stay in the 3rd seed of the Western Conference and keep them on San Antonio’s side of the bracket. It is a right afforded to those who compete the entire season and have the depth to weather fatigue and injuries.

This is the four and final meeting of the regular season between these Northwest Division rivals. The Thunder have won the first three meetings, but the last two games have been games that have gone down to the wire.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC +11.5
O/U: 231.5

Injury Report

OKC

Alex Caruso – OUT (rest)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT (oblique injury management)
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf injury management)
Chet Holmgren – OUT (back)
Isaiah Joe – OUT (knee)
Ajay Mitchell – OUT (ankle injury management)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Cason Wallace – OUT (toe)
Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring injury management)
Jaylin Williams – OUT (Achilles tendinitis)

DEN

Aaron Gordon – Questionable (hamstring injury management)
Christian Braun – Questionable (ankle)
Cam Johnson – Questionable (rest)
Nikola Jokic – Questionable (wrist injury management)
Spencer Jones – OUT (hamstring)
Jamal Murray – Questionable (shoulder)
Peyton Watson – OUT (hamstring)

Three Big Things

Health Above All – While the majority of the Thunder’s rotation is resting, it is important that everyone on the team make it out of the regular season as unscathed as possible. Lu Dort is playing in this game in order to meet the 65-game rule for the possibility of making one of the All-Defense Teams. Jared McCain and Aaron Wiggins have played important rotational minutes this season and could be called upon when the postseason starts. The Thunder have finally gotten as healthy as they’ve been all season and the hope is that the injury report remains clean heading into the postseason.
Speed Them Up – About the only way the Thunder can win this game is in muddying it up and getting out in transition. Denver is 19th in the league in defending Fast Break Points, allowing 15.5 per game. In addition, they are 20th in the league in Pace. If the Thunder can turn them over and make this game a track meet, that could be one way to make this game interesting.
Nikola….Topic – I’m really excited to see the Thunder break off the shackles on Topic and allow him to play free in these last two games. Give him 40 minutes per game and get him prepared to compete for rotational minutes next season. Topic played in 13 G-League games this season and after a few games to get his body acclimated, Topic averaged 30.6 minutes per game in the last 7 games of the G-League season.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Thunder preview (Game 56 of 82)

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Alex Roig

Milwaukee Bucks (22-30, 12th in the East) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-13, 1st in the West)
When: Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 6:30pm CST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: Prime Video / FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: MIL: 113.0 (24th) / OKC: 118.1 (4th)
Defensive Rating: MIL: 116.7 (22nd) / OKC: 106.1 (1st)
Net Rating: MIL: -3.7 (23rd) / OKC: 12.0 (1st)
Current Streaks: MIL: Winners of 4 of their last 5 / OKC: Winners of 4 of their last 6

The Tip-Off

Dang it! You write about the man in the last gameday preview. He puts together his best game of the season. And then the Injury Monster rears it’s ugly head again. This has been a miserable season, health-wise, for Jalen Williams. Against the Suns, Dub was out there looking like All-Star Dub for the entirety of the game, putting on a clinic in the 3rd quarter. But on his single miss of the game, a fast-break lay-up attempt where he had to reach for the ball in full stride, he jogged back to the other side of the court and pointed to the bench while grabbing his hamstring. Timeout, Thunder. Dub heads back to the locker room, never to be seen again. Here’s hoping the All-Star break can help heal some of the Thunder’s walking wounded.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between these two bitter rivals (that’s the joke – they were matched up on rivalry week…for why? I don’t know). The Thunder won the first meeting 122-102, in a game where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 40 points, while Ajay Mitchell and Kenrich Williams each contributed 18 points apiece.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -13
O/U: 214.5

Injury Report

OKC

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT (abdominal strain)
Branden Carlson – OUT (back spasms)
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

MIL

Giannis Antetokounmpo – OUT (calf)
Kyle Kuzma – Questionable (foot)
Taurean Prince – OUT (neck)
Ryan Rollins – Questionable (foot)

Three Big Things

Hot-shooting Team – Both teams come into this game on shooting hot streaks over the past 10 days. Since Feb. 2nd, Milwaukee is 4th in FG% and 1st in 3pt FG%. During that same timespan, OKC is 11th in FG% and 4th in 3pt FG%. Granted, three of the teams that Milwaukee played in that timeframe are in the bottom 10 of defensive rating, but sometimes the opponent doesn’t really matter if you are riding a hot wave.
1…2…3…Cancun! – The game before the All-Star break has the possibility of being a weird game. Milwaukee comes into the game on a hot streak, with young players that want to prove themselves not only to the Bucks, but also to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Guys like Cam Thomas and Thunder legend Ousmane Dieng are getting the green light to put all their skills on display and it’s resulted in some spirited wins here lately. Meanwhile, the Thunder likely just want to get through this game unscathed, so their guys can get a week’s worth of rest.
Nikola Topic – It’s been a long road, but Nikola Topic will make his professional debut tonight. After rehabbing an ACL injury the entirety of his rookie season to battling testicular cancer in the first half of this season, Topic has traveled a journey that would break many. He made his G-League debut earlier this week and immediately looked like he belonged. He scored 7 points and dished out 7 assists in his first game with the Blue. The next night, he scored 22 points and handed out 4 assists. In the absence of SGA, Mitchell, and now, Dub, having Topic out there to facilitate and play-make will be a gift.

Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs preview (Game 52 of 82)

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma City Thunder (40-11, 1st in the West) @ San Antonio Spurs (33-16, 2nd in the West)
When: Wednesday, 04 February 2026 at 8:30pm CST
Where: Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX
TV: ESPN / FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: SAS: 116.2 (11th) / OKC: 118.2 (4th)
Defensive Rating: SAS: 111.2 (3rd) / OKC: 105.6 (1st)
Net Rating: SAS: 5.0 (6th) / OKC: 12.6 (1st)
Current Streaks: SAS: 3-3 in their last 6 games (alternating W’s and L’s) / OKC: 3-3 in their last 6 games, but have won 2 in a row

The Tip-Off

You know, I used to get pissed off when teams used to sit their stars (or even starters) for nationally televised games. Like, why the hell would I tune in to watch your 12th guy off the bench get starter minutes. But now, I kind of get it. Teams that have deep playoff runs don’t have the same restful offseason as those that don’t make the playoffs or exit early. The Thunder played two more months of basketball than most teams in the Association. And they came into this season with the idea that they would play their same brand of basketball. It worked for the first two months of the season. But their brand of basketball and their insistence to win began to take it’s toll on them. And so, the Thunder are now in a position to try and find respites of rest in the schedule whenever possible, while having it be as legit as possible. Those injuries start to pile on and the best recipe is to find rest. And so now, I get it.

This is the fifth and final meeting of the regular season between these two teams. San Antonio won the first three meetings of the season in December that sent Thunder fandom into a deep, dark depression. The Thunder returned the favor in January, winning 119-98.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC +8.5
O/U: 217.5

Injury Report

OKC

Alex Caruso – OUT (adductor)
Ousmane Dieng – OUT (Not With Team)
Lu Dort – OUT (knee)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT (abdominal strain)
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (eye)
Chet Holmgren – OUT (back)
Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

SAS

Stephon Castle – Questionable (thigh)
Dylan Harper – Questionable (ankle)
Kelly Olynyk – Questionable (foot)
Jeremy Sochan – OUT (quad)
Lindy Waters III – OUT (knee)

Three Big Things

Injury Bug – While OKC has been dealing with injuries the entire season, the injury bug finally hit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who will miss the next five games before the All-Star break and will also miss the All-Star game with an abdominal strain. The defending MVP has carried a heavy load this season, leading the Thunder to the best record in the league, while having to navigate consistent roster changes and injuries on a night to night basis. While it stinks to not have SGA out there, it is a good opportunity to get 2+ weeks of rest while only missing 5 games.
Good Opportunity – Here I thought the Orlando game was going to be the sacrificial game. Turns out, it’s the Spurs game. I get it. Guys need rest, SGA is injured, and you’ve already played the Spurs four times this season. There’s not much to glean from another battle against a potential 2nd or 3rd round playoff opponent. But it is a good opportunity for guys like Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins to expand their games and try new things. Remember when J-Will got all his triple-doubles last season late in the season when most of the starters were resting. Remember when it was almost guaranteed that Wiggins would get 25+ points when the starters sat late last season. Maybe this can be the Chris Youngblood “5 3-pointers made” game. Maybe Brooks Barnhizer will actually take an outside shot. Lots of opportunity for development.
Welcome, Jared McCain – The Thunder didn’t wait until Thursday to strike on a trade. They made a couple moves that netted them Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 2026 Houston first round pick and three future second round picks. In a lateral move, Ousmane Dieng and a 2029 2nd round pick were moved to Charlotte in exchange for Mason Plumlee, who was subsequently waived to create a roster spot for McCain. Dieng was then moved from Charlotte to Chicago in a separate trade. The idea of Dieng was always more hopeful than the actual production. Every time it seemed like Dieng was starting to carve out a role, an injury usually happened. By the time Dieng looked up, the team was on it’s way to contention and the developmental train had transformed into a hard-charging championship-contending train. But, hey, he got a championship ring out of it and was a Finals MVP for a G-League championship.

Sacramento Kings vs. Thunder preview (Game 5 of 82)

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Alex Roig

Sacramento Kings (1-2) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0)
When: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 at 7:00pm CST
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: FDSN-OK
Offensive Rating: SAC: 111.8 (20th) / OKC: 113.6 (18th)
Defensive Rating: SAC: 114.0 (14th) / OKC: 104.4 (1st)
Net Rating: SAC: -2.2 (18th) / OKC: 9.2 (4th)

The Set-Up

It’s kind of crazy being a fan of a team who’s extremely proficient up and down the organization. From ownership to the front office to the coaching staff to the players (and this includes their G-League team), the Oklahoma City Thunder are as efficient as they effective. It’s always been one of their key tenants in building a team culture that targets purposeful action. Things that you see in other successful organizations: the San Antonio Spurs, the Miami Heat, the Pittsburgh Steelers, etc. Organizations that from the top on down have an expectation and a plan to execute those expectations.

Annnnnnd then, there’s the Sacramento Kings. A team whose two decade-long status as a middling team has given rise to a nickname that acts as the alter ego to their wishes of a well run organization: the Kangz. The Kings of the early 2000’s that featured Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and Doug Christie were the darlings of the NBA. Unfortunately, they ran into the beginning run of the Shaq/Kobe Lakers and were never able to scale that mountain. From there, it’s been flub after flub that has kept the team at or near the middle and away from the talent of the early lottery. When they’ve had the opportunity to draft high in the lottery, they’ve completely blown it (namely, 2018 when they drafted Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic). When they’ve gotten good young talent (De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis), they haven’t been able to build a team around them and sustain any type of success. Now, they are just trying their best to stay above water which will net them another middle of the pack season where they will be in the high lottery. Thank the basketball gods that I reside in Oklahoma.

This is the first of three meetings this season between the Kings and Thunder. The Thunder swept the season series last year, winning by an average of 23.7 points and have won five in a row against the Kings.

Betting Info presented by FanDuel

Line: OKC -10.5
O/U: 227.5

Injury Report

OKC

Chet Holmgren – OUT (back soreness)
Isaiah Joe – OUT (knee)
Thomas Sorber – OUT (knee – ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (testicular procedure)
Jalen Williams – OUT (wrist)
Kenrich Williams – OUT (knee)

SAC

Nique Clifford – OUT (hamstring)
Keegan Murray – OUT (thumb)

Three Big Things

Strengths vs. Weaknesses – The Sacramento Kings are defensively weak on the interior. They allow 56 points per game in the paint (24th), 22.3 points off turnovers (28th), 18.3 second chance points (24th), and are last in the league in rebounds grabbed. Conversely, the Thunder score 54.5 points in the paint (10th), 22.3 points off turnovers (5th), and are 4th in the league in rebounds, which opens up the opportunity for 2nd chance points.
Two-big Lineup – One of the biggest storylines heading into this season was whether the Thunder would continue to lean into the 2-big lineup or start to move away from it. Four games in, the Thunder have started the 2-big lineup in all the games and each of the big men is averaging a double/double. Last season, in 316 minutes played, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein had an offensive rating of 122.9, a defensive rating of 109.4, and a net rating of 13.5. This season, the offensive rating is 123.1, the defensive rating is 104.3, and the net rating is 18.8. In 2-man lineups that have played at least 80 minutes (20 minutes/game), the 2-big line-up is second behind the SGA/Cason Wallace 2-man lineup. In short, the two-big lineup is working much better so far this season.
Russell Westbrook – There may not be too many more opportunities to see the King of the Prairie in his original field of play. Russell Westbrook was who OKC needed when they needed a hero the most. We all know what Russ means to the franchise. He’ll be the second number in the rafters and the first statue outside the arena. He’ll likely have a street in the city named after him. But we all saw how uneasy it was waiting for Westbrook to sign with the Kings a week before the season started. We don’t know when the end will come, but we all know the end is near. So appreciate any opportunity to cheer Westbrook on. On this team, he is no longer a threat like he was with the Denver Nuggets. Do what we do and give the man a raucous applause when he enters the game…because we don’t know how many more times we have to do this.

Thunder @ Toronto Raptors preview (Game 22 of 82)

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Alex Roig

Oklahoma City Thunder (16-5) at Toronto Raptors (7-15)
When: Thursday, 05 December 2024 at 6:30pm CST
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Offensive Rating – TOR: 112.0 (18th) / OKC: 114.7 (8th)
Defensive Rating – TOR: 115.0 (22nd) / OKC: 103.9 (1st)
Net Rating – TOR: -3.0 (20th) / OKC: 10.8 (1st)

The Set-Up

When I look at the Toronto Raptors, I get a sense of Deja Vu. It’s almost like the Thunder can look at the Raptors and question whether they’ve seen this movie before. A team that had a good run of it (hell, even got a championship out of their window) and then decided they needed to switch into rebuild mode. To make it even more similar, they hired themselves a coach that used to coach the Thunder’s G-League team and was an assistant with the Thunder for several years in Darko Rajakovic. In addition, they decided to stack their cupboard with young players and assets. Sound familiar yet? Well, how about this last little tidbit? The rebuilding Toronto Raptors play hard every game…kind of like the Thunder did when they were coming up several years ago. To the point where, in the East, they may be, dare I say, too good to tank. Even though they are sitting eight games under .500, they are just a game and a half out of the 10th spot in their conference. The Raptors may be rebuilding, but this won’t be an easy game.

This is the first of two meetings this year between these two teams. The Thunder have won 3 of the last 4 meetings dating back to the 2022-23 season.

Betting Info

Line: OKC -9.5
O/U: 226.5

Injury Report

OKC

Ousmane Dieng – OUT (finger)
Alex Ducas – OUT (hip)
Chet Holmgren – OUT (hip)
Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
Jaylin Williams – OUT (hamstring)

TOR

D.J. Carton – GTD (ankle)
Ulrich Chomche – GTD (illness)
Gradey Dick – GTD (calf)
Kelly Olynyk – OUT (back)
Jakob Poeltl – GTD (illness)

Three Big Things

Manning The Middle – The Raptors lead the league in points in the paint and are last in the league in percentage of points from the 3-point line. This plays heavily into the Thunder’s defensive plan of attack, as they like to sink in to protect the paint, while flying out to contest 3-point shots. But it’s the Thunder, so you know someone on the Raptors who has struggled shooting from deep has a high possibility of breaking out in this game (here’s looking at Davion Mitchell and his 27.8% 3-point shooting percentage).
Rebounding – If there is one place where the Raptors may stay in the game with the Thunder, its on the boards. The Raptors are 2nd in the league in rebounding, 4th in total rebounds, 1st in Offensive Rebound percentage, and 3rd in 2nd chance points. Jakob Poeltl and the big wings of Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett do a good job of cleaning up the glass. If there is anything that galvanizes a young team, especially at home, it’s usually 2nd chance points. Hopefully, the Thunder can withstand the minutes where Isaiah Hartenstein is not on the floor.
Homecoming – It’s always a fun time when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort return back to their home country and show out. It’s even provided SGA with an avenue to breakout his new signature logo as the face of Converse.

https://twitter.com/CrainNBA/status/1864718571143618570

Topic: Thunder Podcast – The Weekly, Episode 11

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Alex Roig

Topic Thunder On the latest episode of The Weekly, the Topic: Thunder crew discuss the following topics:

Looking back at the 3-game road trip from last week
Player of the Week
Khris Middleton trade ideas
Houston struggling, smiles abound
The OKC Blue are the top team in the G-League
People imitating Russell Westbrook, but Russ receiving no credit
Looking at the next 4 games against tough Western Conference opponents
And more…

Thank you for listening to our podcast. You can catch the post-game recaps on the 2018-19 Schedule page on this site and on Thunderous Intentions. You can listen to us anywhere you get your podcasts. Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes if you would like. That really helps with our ratings on Itunes. You can follow us and interact with us on Twitter (@OKCTopicThunder). Thank you for listening, and as always, Thunder Up!

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 31 July 2017

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Alex Roig

img_4133-5 Hello new week. Let’s get this thing going. Here is Monday’s edition of DTR…

The Thunder signed UCLA guard Bryce Alford. The deal is likely a training camp invite.

Russell Westbrook was rumored to be playing in the Drew League against former teammate James Harden. Instead, he was at Disney Land with his new teammate, Noah Westbrook: “Westbrook even brought baby Noah, who despite being a few months old has been a major part of the Westbrook family’s travels this offseason. Westbrook took his newborn son to Paris back in June. Westbrook was reportedly supposed to play in the Drew League on Sunday night against a team which featured Chris Paul and James Harden. If Westbrook has enough energy to play pickup basketball after a day at a hot amusement park, he truly has a non-stop motor.” Continue reading →