Jazz-Thunder Injury Report: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Update
The Utah Jazz play the final game in their six-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Utah Jazz will look to stretch their longest win streak of the year to seven games when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center on Thursday night. If they’re going to pull it off, it will have to be done against a formidable opponent, but may not be at full strength.
Lu Dort, Ousmane Dieng, Tre Mann, and Keyontae Johnson are listed as questionable due to illness. Also, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had been nursing a sore knee and was questionable heading into his last game versus the Los Angeles Lakers, but it looks like he will be available against the Jazz. Utah will be entering the game with a clean bill of health.
It’s been smooth sailing for Utah during its six-game winning streak. Five of those games were won by double digits, and Utah is winning by an average of 17.6 points over that stretch.
With its recent success, Utah has strong-armed its way back into the playoff conversation, but will they play for keeps this season? With only three weeks left until the trade deadline, the rumors involving some of Utah’s core have been hot and heavy.
The players who will become unrestricted free agents this summer are the ones to watch closely. Kelly Olynyk, Kris Dunn, Simone Fontecchio, and Talen Horton-Tucker’s contracts will be expiring and could be up for bid.
However, the more games that are won, the more likely it is that Utah stays the course. Throwing the towel in two years in a row may not sit well with players or fans.
Beating a second-place Thunder team would be making a statement that this Utah team belongs in the playoff conversation. The oddsmakers are going with Oklahoma to win the game and have Utah pegged at a 1.5-point underdog. The tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. MST.