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After scoring 24 points in Oklahoma City’s narrow victory over Sacramento on Thursday, Danilo Gallinari has been ruled out of tonight’s tilt against Milwaukee due to an ankle issue. Honestly, as far as long-term concerns, I wouldn’t fret too much about Gallinari’s absence. This will be the fifth-straight time the veteran has been sidelined for the second-half of a back-to-back situtation in 2019-20, as the Thunder are obviously exercising caution with their oft-injured forward.
As it pertains to Friday’s slate, Gallinari missing from Oklahoma City’s rotation only accentuates the glaring hole the team has at it’s wing positions. Darius Bazley drew a spot start the last occasion that Gallinari was hurt, yet he’s also inactive this evening due to an ongoing knee ailment. So, that’ll probably mean more minutes for both Luguentz Dort ($3,100) and Hamidou Diallo ($3,000) in a daunting individual matchup versus Giannis Antetokounmpo.