Thus far, for the Thunder, Orlando really has been the “Magic Kingdom.”
After winning its three exhibition games, Oklahoma City began their gamut of eight seeding games with a resounding victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.
When Chris Paul and co. square off against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Nikola Jokic’s team will be far from full strength; the Thunder will be looking to make it five in a row.
On Sunday, Nuggets coach Mike Malone declared three of his starters — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton — as “very, very questionable” for the contest. An injury report released by the time after the coach’s comments confirmed that Harris (hip) and Barton (knee) would each miss the contest, while Murray, who is nursing a hamstring issue, is the only one of the three officially listed as questionable.
Gary Harris (hip) and Will Barton (knee) are out tomorrow against OKC. Jamal Murray (hamstring) is questionable.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) August 2, 2020
The three also missed the club’s first seeding game against the Miami Heat on Friday, and if they’re to avoid an 0-2 start to their resumption, they’ll have to defeat a Thunder team that’s only appeared to have gotten stronger as the season has progressed.
The competition will tip-off at 4:00 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on NBATV.