Having lost its last two games by 20-plus points, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now grappling for a footing for the first time in seasons.
For the past three years, OKC has finished as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Over the past week, its suffered major injuries to its top players, including two All-NBA selectees, three formerAll-Defense members,
Oklahoma City still has talent, inlcuding the back-to-back MVP, budding guards like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, as well as center Isaiah Hartenstein. But there’s little question it will need to find it’s footing soon. Fans are hoping that will come as soon as a game against Cleveland tonight.
Here are the injury reports for both the Thunder and Cavaliers as they prepare to face off in tonight’s bout:
OKC Thunder injuries:
Alex Caruso — Out: Right ankle sprain
Chet Holmgren — Out: right knee injury recovery
Thomas Sorber — Out: Right knee surgery
Nikola Topic — Out: Low back surgery
Cason Wallace — Out: Left shoulder surgery
Jalen Williams — Out: G League
Cleveland Cavaliers injuries:
Khalifa Diop — Out: G League
Nae-Qwan Tomlin — Out: Low back stress reaction
Jaylon Tyson — Out: Right ankle sprain
Ernest Udeh Jr. — Out: G League
Peyton Watson — Questionable: Right hamstring tightness/soreness
The Thunder continue to list six players on its injury report, several of which are highly impactful and all of which would be playing in the rotation tonight if they were healthy.
The silver lining for Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace — injured against the Clippers games ago — is that they weren’t officially ruled out for the entirety of the season. Both underwent surgery, and will be reevaluated prior to the end of the 2026-27 season.
Holmgren was also injured during the LA tilt, and will now make his return to play in eight to 10 weeks following a partial tear of his patellar tendon. That, along with Alex Caruso’s sprained ankle suffered just one game later, were major blows to OKC as well.
Now, the Thunder are running a skeleton crew led by the two-time MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and are taking on a gauntlet of teams in the early part of the season.
One such team is Cleveland, who they’ll face off in a back-to-back in both Cleveland and OKC.
The Cavaliers have three players listed due to injury, including Peyton Watson, acquired from the Nuggets in the offseason. Watson is listed as questionable to play.
The Thunder and Cavaliers will tip off at 6 p.m. CT from Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH.
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