The OKC Thunder are preparing to play their third preseason game, this time on the road against the Charlotte Hornets. Given the nature of a matinee road game to wrap up the trip, the Oklahoma City Thunder will rest a CVS receipt worth of players. Kenrich Williams, however, is listed with an actual injury.
On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder played in Montreal, Canada, the hometown of defensive ace Lu Dort. In Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s home country, the Thunder looked impressive against the Detroit Pistons and stayed in Montreal before jetting to the Queen City on Saturday. Kenrich Williams left the game early with some discomfort in that exhibition tilt with the Pistons.
Oklahoma City Thunder will rest their regulars, see Kenrich Williams sidelined with a back injury.
The OKC Thunder announced today that Kenrich Williams will miss this game due to back spasms he picked up in that Thursday matchup with Detroit. This is a tough blow to one of the team’s veteran leaders, who missed last season’s stretch run with a wrist injury.
He entered training camp healthy and made it until the second preseason game healthy. However, now that he is dealing with these back spasms, we will get an update on their severity later. The Team is set to return to Oklahoma City following this matchup.
Thunder vs. Hornets tonight from Charlotte. Players who won't go tonight for OKC:
— Nick Gallo (@NickAGallo) October 15, 2023
Kenrich Williams: back spasms
Poku: right ankle sprain
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: rest
Lu Dort: rest
Josh Giddey: rest
Chet Holmgren: rest
Jalen Willams: rest
Isaiah Joe: rest
Along with Kenrich Williams, Aleksej Pokusevski is out with a previous injury as the former first-round pick hurt his ankle a week before camp. Those are the only two players on the OKC Thunder injury report who are out due to an injury.
Along with those two, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Joe are not playing against the Hornets and are instead resting.
It is important for bench boss Mark Daigneault to manage the minutes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Lu Dort in the preseason after the trio played extensive minutes this summer at the FIBA World Cup.
After playing in the first two preseason games, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Joe have earned nights off. This is partly due to having a 21-man roster at the moment; with 20 players reported to the Thunder, you have to balance how to find minutes for the end of bench players.