The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night which marks the home opener for the OKC Thunder in the third game of the season. Already the second time facing the Timberwolves this season, the Thunder will be without star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their first of 41 home games.
Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder played in Denver against the Nuggets on the first leg of a back-to-back set, and in the fourth quarter of that competitive game, fifth-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suffered a hip contusion according to OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was a game-time decision with a hip contusion, will not play vs Minnesota Timberwolves in the OKC Thunder home opener
While the Oklahoma City Thunder are 0-2 on the season, the team has played two projected Western Conference playoff teams down to the wire on the road. Tonight, they will try to capture their first win of the year in their first home contest.
They will have to do so without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is off to a blazing offensive start averaging 30 points, six assists, and four rebounds per game over that span. SGA is shooting 48 percent from the floor, continuing his dominance at the rim making 88 percent at the cup.
The Kentucky product has already missed all of training camp and preseason due to injury (a grade two MCL sprain), and now he will miss the third game of the young season.
Mark Daigneault is not going to announce the starters before any contest this season, as a competitive advantage for the team and get them ready for what competitive teams do.
In his pregame press conference, the Thunder bench boss was asked why he benched Aleksej Pokusevski during the second half of last night’s contest against the Denver Nuggets saying Pokusevski’s “Physicality” was not up to par, but added the third-year forward “will get another shot” tonight.
When discussing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mark Daigneault said it would be a game-time decision for the max contract guard who went through pregame warm-ups before realizing he could not go. Though the Thunder head coach did describe Gilgeous-Alexander as a “self-motivated” player and glowingly referred to his fashion status as “drippy.”