OKC Thunder statement win offers ample reason to give thanks – key takeaways

A huge win for the OKC Thunder over the Warriors almost lost its luster, instead, we’re left reflecting and giving thanks.

With it being the American Thanksgiving let’s start with the obvious — Happy Thanksgiving Thunder Nation! Following up on that sentiment as OKC Thunder fans are overwhelmingly thankful Hamidou Diallo did not suffer a serious injury as first suspected. Get well soon Hami – you’ve been one of the best surprises of the season!

Injury riddled evening:

In terms of injuries, it was one of those nights where Thunder players were dropping like flies on the hardwood. Let’s recall all the incidents:

• Around the six minute mark, Terrance Ferguson came down awkwardly on his ankle and had to be helped off the court. He was in clear discomfort and it would seem he’ll be on the injured reserve list for an extended period.
• Russell Westbrook dove into the crowd for a ball and came up rubbing his shoulder.
• On a drive to the paint Westbrook landed awkwardly and if you witnessed his gait leaving the court he did seem to be favoring his recently healed ankle.
• Dennis Schroeder inadvertently hit Nerlens Noel in the head breaking his sports goggles. This resulted in Noel joining TFerg in the locker room to receive several stitches.

• Undeniably, the worst incident of the night was the awkward, hard fall of Hamidou Diallo and then subsequent additional hit he took as Jonas Jerebko landed on top of his leg which looked far worse than what we’re hearing it turned out to be.

Young further confirmed Diallo left Oracle in a walking boot on crutches and that Paul George referred to his injury as an ankle sprain.

"Diallo exited the locker room with a boot on his left foot and using crutches, but he was in good spirits after getting what was pretty surprising news considering how scary the play looked."

Luck prevails:

This is the third time in recent weeks an injury viewed in real timed looked much worse than it was. Clearly, Caris LeVert‘s injury appeared to be another Gordon Hayward situation but turned out to be a dislocation with no broken bones or serious ligament damage.

When Westbrook turned his ankle, his knee seemed to buckle and Thunder fans collectively held their breath praying it wasn’t another knee injury.

Likewise, Diallo’s fall gave the impression he had sustained a serious injury. More than observation, the players reactions and hearing Diallo’s audible expression of pain gave everyone a sinking feeling.

So news it wasn’t as bad as initially thought, is by far yet another reason to be thankful today.