Week 16 serves up a busy week of games for the OKC Thunder with four games on tap. The first match of the week resulted in yet another rout this time at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.
That’s now three losses in a row the Thunder have fallen to their opponent in blowout fashion. The average differential in the three matches versus the Suns, Blazers, and Pistons is 36.3 points
While the Thunder are one of seven teams who have kept losing streaks to three games or less this season, they’ll need a victory in this match to avoid reducing that list to six teams.
The Hornets arrive in OKC on the heels of their own blowout following an 86-116 defeat to the Celtics. Charlotte didn’t just lose the game they also lost Gordon Hayward in that match who went down with a foot injury.
Already missing LaMelo Ball who’ll be out for a month due to a fractured wrist now they’ll play a month without either Ball or Hayward.
OKC Thunder versus Charlotte Hornets preview:
Let’s dive into the specifics of the match:
Game specifics:
Records:
- Thunder: 20-30
- Hornets: 25-24
The Venue: Chesapeake Energy Arena
Tipoff: 8:00 PM ET | 7:00 PM CT
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma | NBA League Pass
Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM OKC
Odds:
Injuries:
OKC Thunder:
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- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his eighth consecutive game with plantar fasciitis
Al Horford has been shut down for the season.
Darius Bazley will miss his 15th consecutive game with a shoulder contusion.
Mike Muscala is out with an ankle injury missing his 13th of the last 14 games.
Luguentz Dort is out in the concussion protocol program, missing his sixth game in a row.
Ty Jerome is day-to-day with an ankle injury.
Hornets:
- LaMelo Ball had surgery on his wrist after fracturing it and will be re-evaluated in a month (April 24th)
- Gordon Hayward suffered a foot injury that will keep him out a month (May 2nd)
- Malik Monk has an ankle injury that will keep him off the court for up to two weeks.
History:
The squads have faced each other 59 times in regular-season history. The OKC Thunder have the advantage of winning 41 of those matches compared to 18 for the Hornets.
In the 2019-20 campaign the teams played a single time due to the pandemic with OKC winning 104-102 in overtime.
This is the second meeting between the clubs this season. The initial meeting was the first game of the season for the Thunder and the second for the Hornets. OKC won that December 26th match 109-107.