Turns out when the OKC Thunder have their best players available they tend to perform better. On Monday Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was cleared from the concussion protocol program, Josh Giddey and Derrick Favors recovered from the flu bug plus Kenrich Williams‘ ankle was sufficiently healed for him to suit up.
That quartet each played and more importantly factored in the win versus the Pistons. It was a satisfying victory for OKC who ended an eight-game losing streak. More importantly, it offered highlights to replace the prior match which everyone wants to wipe from their memories.
OKC Thunder versus Raptors: the Canadian Bowl, preview
North of the border, the Raptors have been mired by injuries this entire season. Their primary scoring option, Pascal Siakam had offseason shoulder surgery (the same one Paul George had) causing him to miss training camp and the first 10 games of the season.
OG Anunoby will miss his 10th consecutive game this evening with a hip injury and Khem Birch missing his seventh in a row due to knee swelling that isn’t structural but Toronto wants to fully heal.
They began the season strong but the wear and tear of the injuries combined with their youthful roster resulted in some regression during a West Coast road trip. Back in Canada, they’re practicing daily. Siakam told reporters he hasn’t practiced this much since his rookie season when he played for both the G-League and varsity rosters.
It’s paying dividends as they’ve looked better on both ends of the floor holding their last three opponents under 100 points each, with victories in two.
This is a date that both SGA and Luguentz Dort get hyped for as it brings them to their homeland and for Shai the city he grew up in just outside of. Another interesting tidbit is Dort, Birch and Chris Boucher all grew up in the Belle Province (Quebec) so they have that common bond.
In fact, there are a lot of cool cross-overs between these clubs as Raptors coach Nick Nurse is also the Team Canada coach, and his assistant Adrian Griffin spent time in OKC as one of the best development coaches.