The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to have one of their best players back for a game that has playoff seeding implications.
Head coach Billy Donovan said point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (hip contusion) “should be available to play tomorrow,” according to The Oklahoman’s Maddie Lee.
After suffering a hip contusion in the win over the New York Knicks on Friday, Gilgeous-Alexander missed the game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday in which Oklahoma City eked out a one-point win.
The presence of Gilgeous-Alexander against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday will be important.
The Jazz holds the fourth seed in the Western Conference and is one game ahead of the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a team-high 19.3 points to go with 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 47% from the floor and 35% from 3.
He will be re-evaluated Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the game, Lee tweeted.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (hip contusion) "should be available to play tomorrow," per Billy Donovan. But SGA will be evaluated today and tomorrow to make sure he stays on track to return.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) March 10, 2020
Oklahoma City and Utah both have one win against the other this season. Getting that second win would be pivotal in case of a tiebreaker circumstance.
If the Thunder win Wednesday, they would take the fourth seed for the time being.
After Wednesday, the Thunder and Jazz will play one more time on April 13. Should they split these remaining games and end the season with the same record, the next applicable tiebreaker would be winning percentage inside their division.
Oklahoma City is 7-4 against Northwest opponents and the Jazz are 5-5 as of Tuesday.
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