Tonight, NBA fans were expected to be treated to a marquee battle between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,700) and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama ($10,000) and the San Antonio Spurs. It would’ve been the fifth time this season that these two mega-stars would’ve faced off, with Wembanyama’s Spurs claiming victory thrice.
However, just hours before tipoff, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced that Gilgeous-Alexander had sustained an abdominal strain and that he would be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. Subsequently, Oklahoma City ruled Chet Holmgren ($8,200), Isaiah Hartenstein ($5,500), Ajay Mitchell ($5,100), Alex Caruso ($4,200), and Luguentz Dort ($4,900) out. Jalen Williams ($7,400) remains sidelined with his hamstring strain.
Without six of their top seven players by minutes per game out and newly-acquired Jared McCain unavailable, the Thunder are going to get a chance to test out their depth. Oklahoma City’s go-to scoring option tonight will likely be Cason Wallace ($4,800), who scored 27 points (42 FPTS) in the Thunder’s win over the Denver Nuggets on February 1 and should have star upside for his minuscule salary. Bigs Branden Carlson ($3,500) and Jaylin Williams ($5,000) could also have some fantasy value against a team that, despite having a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Wembanyama, has given up the eighth-most FPTS to opposing centers. Williams did have three triple-doubles in nine starts last season.
My favorite value play for tonight is probably Isaiah Joe ($4,600). He’s had at least 22 FPTS in three of his last four games, including a 22-point (26.5-FPT) effort in 23 minutes last night against the Orlando Magic. Joe is also the only Oklahoma City player who’s made more than 40% of his threes this season, and with San Antonio making life inside difficult thanks to Wembanyama, three-point shooting has been a major key in all four of these teams’ matchups. Joe’s jumper could very well be the difference between victory and defeat for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s injury will rule him out for at least the next five games, and it’ll also require his replacement on Team World for the All-Star Game. The Houston Rockets’ Alperen Şengün ($9,700) is Gilgeous-Alexander’s most likely replacement in the All-Star Game, but Commissioner Adam Silver has yet to announce a replacement. It was not immediately clear how severe the rest of Oklahoma City’s injuries are.
The Thunder opened as 2.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, but after all the injury news broke, the Spurs are now 8.5-point favorites (-375 on the Moneyline), with the point total set to 216.5. Oklahoma City is +295 on the Moneyline.
