OKC Thunder face well rested Hornets – preview

Projected line-ups

OKC Thunder Starters:

Point Guard: Chris Paul
Shooting Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Small Forward: Terrance Ferguson
Power Forward: Darius Bazley
Center:  Steven Adams

OKC Thunder Bench:

Point Guard: Dennis Schroder.
Shooting Guard: Deonte Burton, Luguentz Dort
Small Forward: Abdel Nader
Power Forward: Mike Muscala, Kevin Hervey
Center: Nerlens Noel, Justin Patton

Injury notes:

• Danilo Gallinari injured his ankle in the warmup this past Sunday versus the LA Clippers. He didn’t suit up for the Grizzlies game and as per Donovan won’t travel with the team for this mini two-game road trip.
• Hamidou Diallo continues to rehab from the hyperextended elbow and projected to return in the New Year.
• Andre Roberson is still rehabbing away from the team for his knee injury

Charlotte Hornets Starters

The starting rotation for the Hornets could be drastically different than outlined if PJ Washington doesn’t return as he’s predicted to this evening. Prior to his injury both Washington and Zeller were in the starting lineup with Biyombo coming off the bench. But at that time Nic Batum was injured so with him back in the starting rotation that also mixed up how Head Coach James Borrego dealt with his starting five.

Presumably, the big change will be Nic Batum moves back to the bench but who starts at center is up in the air as it could be Biyombo or Zeller.

Point Guard: Terry Rozier
Shooting Guard: Devonte’ Graham
Small Forward: Miles Bridges
Power Forward: PJ Washington
Center: Bismack Biyombo

Charlotte Hornets Bench

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Point Guard:
Shooting Guard: Malik Monk, Dwayne Bacon, Caleb Martin
Small Forward: Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist,
Power Forward: Marvin Williams,  Cody Martin, Jalen McDaniels
Center: Cody Zeller, Willy Hernangomez

Injury Notes and Suspensions:

None.

Game specifics

The Venue: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

Tipoff:  7:00 PM ET  | 6:00 PM CT

TV: FS Oklahoma, FS Southeast (Charlotte)

Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM OKC

History:

The teams have played 57 times previously with the OKC Thunder winning 39 times over the Hornets 18. Last season the teams met twice with OKC sweeping the series and are on a three-game win streak over the Hornets.

Enjoy the game and check back post game for player grades followed by the three takeaways.