The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Phoenix Suns tonight with several notable names missing as both teams have their postseason fate sealed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,400) will headline the injury list for the Thunder with Isaiah Hartenstein ($6,700), Lu Dort ($4,600) and Cason Wallace ($4,100) all joining him on the sideline.
Three games are remaining on Oklahoma City’s regular-season schedule and it has officially locked up the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time since 2013. This should be looked at as nothing more than rest with Gilgeous-Alexander doing plenty to cement his MVP outlook in recent games.
Nick Richards will miss tonight’s game and Kevin Durant will remain out for the Phoenix Suns with the organization being forced to accept the failure of this season. The Suns will miss the playoffs and Play-in Tournament outright, becoming the only team in the NBA to not qualify for either nor have a stake in the NBA Draft lottery with their draft pick no longer in their possession. There will be some big-picture questions to address this offseason but in the meantime, they will keep their focus on the Thunder tonight.
While having several of their top rotation players out changes things from the Thunder’s perspective, they have one of the deepest rosters in the league with guys near the bottom of the rotation likely receiving much larger roles on other teams. Expect them to showcase their abilities tonight with players like Jalen Williams ($8,400), Chet Holmgren ($7,700), Aaron Wiggins ($5,500) and Alex Caruso ($3,600) set to see expanded roles tonight.
Following the injury news, the Thunder have dropped to 6.5-point favorites and -250 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Suns hold +205 odds on the Moneyline with the game total set at 226.
